An Indonesian government ministry is expected to fast-track a decree creating cybercops to monitor the internet after a hacker broke into the official website of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a newspaper reported on Thursday.
The Posts and Telecommunications Directorate General is feverishly preparing legal regulations to create an ”internet-security committee,” the Jakarta Post reported.
”We expect the regulations to be ready in June and for the committee to commence operations in November,” Gatot S Dewa Broto, the directorate’s spokesperson, was quoted as saying.
The directorate plans to appoint security officers as the internet-security committee’s ”eyes and ears” and has bought more than $430 000-worth of computer hardware and software equipment to do the job.
On Saturday, a hacker self-named ”Qwerty”, after the first six letters on a computer keyboard, redirected internet users trying to access one of two presidential websites to another site featuring a satirical protest letter to Yudhoyono.
The hacker demanded the president reduce the cost of accessing the internet and eradicate corruption, collusion and nepotism within the Indonesian government to avoid ”further punishment from God”.
The attack lasted less than two days, and no damage was done to the website, but it was enough to panic officials and prompted them to finalise new internet-security regulations, the Post reported. — Sapa-dpa