Preventing Cybercrimes, Indonesia's Ministry of Communications and Informatics Educates a Thousand of Sikka Residents on Personal Data Protection

MAUMERE, Indonesia, May 26, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- To foster a more digitally proficient society, Indonesia's Ministry of Communications and Informatics, in collaboration with the National Digital Literacy Movement Siberkreasi, organizes Digital Literacy Week. A thousand participants from various backgrounds in Sikka attended the one-day workshop titled "Understanding Personal Data in the Digital Space," held offline on 24 May 2023 at the Sikka Convention Center.

According to the National Cyber Security Index (NCSI) data, Indonesia's cybersecurity index score rose from 38.96 in 2022 to 63.64 in April 2023. This increase in score has also elevated Indonesia's ranking in the cybersecurity index from 83rd to 47th out of 175 countries. Despite this significant improvement, the Ministry remains committed to ongoing literacy programs nationwide.

The Regent of Sikka, Fransiskus Roberto Diogo, stated that the internet had become an integral part of people's lives in his region. However, several issues related to internet usage in the community require special attention, such as hoaxes and personal data breaches. "Workshops like this are important to raise awareness so that the people can utilize the internet optimally, as well as prevent hoaxes and hacking."

Fransiskus's statement aligns with the survey conducted by the Association of Indonesian Internet Service Providers (APJII). The survey recorded that internet penetration in Indonesia reached 78.19% in 2023, or 215,626,156 individuals. Indonesia's internet penetration rate has increased by 1.17% this year compared to the previous period.

Yohannes De Brito Nanto, Lecturer at the Institute of Philosophy and Creative Technology (IFTK) Ledalero, explained that digital transformation had turned user data into a valuable source of information. The misuse of personal data can lead to economic losses and pose a threat to the ideology of the country. Yohannes added, "By safeguarding personal data security, we also prevent criminal activities."

Rini Kartini, Communication Science Lecturer at Nusa Nipa University, also emphasized a similar point. According to Rini, the public must understand the distinction between public and personal data. "Personal data protection starts from ourselves. Therefore, everyone must know and understand which data related to them that they can disclose to the public or keep private."

"Digitalization is key to inclusive and sustainable economic growth if used properly," said Khemal Andrias, the CEO of Next Generation Indonesia. He also expressed the importance of safeguarding personal data security and shared some tips, such as regularly changing passwords for all accounts and refraining from carelessly accessing shared links.

Numerous organizations from the region's communities, universities, and schools enthusiastically attended the event. Among them were the KAHE Community, MSME Associations, Sikka Children's Forum, Indonesian Red Cross (PMI), GMNI, ANSOR, Muhammadiyah Youth, Youth Members of several Catholic churches, Student Councils from various high schools and vocational schools, as well as student associations from IFTK Ledalero and UNIPA Indonesia. At the end of the workshop, the participants enjoyed live performances from local bands.

For more information and other digital literacy events, visit http://info.literasidigital.id, http://event.literasidigital.id, http://literasidigital.id and follow @Siberkreasi and @literasidigitalkominfo on social media. 

About the Indonesian Ministry of Communications and Informatics

The Ministry of Communications and Informatics of Indonesia, through Ditjen Aptika, has the primary function of spreading and developing the national digital infrastructure to accelerate Indonesia's digital transformation.

The Ministry is working with National Digital Literacy Movement Siberkreasi as its partner to provide education on digital literacy to the broader public through various forms of media. This movement focuses on using digital literacy to elevate national capability and further the Indonesian people.