Jakarta, INTI – The high number of national data leak cases over the past year has once again put Indonesia’s cybersecurity coordination under the spotlight, especially after the statement made by Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa on October,24,2025 during a media briefing at the Ministry of Finance, Central Jakarta. In his remarks, Purbaya said that he wanted to “teach” the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (Komdigi) about cybersecurity as part of efforts to strengthen data protection systems. This move emerged at a time when the country urgently needs concrete solutions to improve public data protection. At the same time, the Personal Data Protection Law (PDP Law) has officially been in effect since October 17, 2024.
BSSN Remains the Main Authority for Cybersecurity
Telecommunications expert and Executive Director of ICT Institute, Heru Sutadi, believes that Purbaya’s statement should not be taken merely as a joke, but as criticism of the weak coordination among government agencies. Heru stressed that in terms of institutional structure, cybersecurity is the main domain of the National Cyber and Encryption Agency (BSSN), not the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (Komdigi).
Heru underlined that this weak inter-agency coordination is what makes BSSN’s role appear less optimal in ensuring national data security.
PDP Law Has Yet to Effectively Address the Root Issues
Heru also pointed out that up until now, the implementation of the PDP Law has not been fully enforced because the implementing regulation in the form of a Government Regulation (PP) has yet to be issued and the Personal Data Protection Agency has also not been established. As a result, the data protection issue still appears to be handled individually by each ministry rather than being carried out as a structured and integrated national agenda.
Purbaya Recruits Hackers to Test Ministry of Finance IT Systems
Previously, Purbaya admitted that he had invited and paid Indonesian hackers to test the IT systems at the Ministry of Finance. He stated that the testing results showed a drastic improvement in the security level from a score of 30 to 95.
Purbaya even targets that the Coretax system and the Ministry of Finance’s IT systems will reach a score of 100 within the next month.
National Strengthening Must Follow One Unified Architecture
Heru emphasized that this move by the Ministry of Finance should become a momentum for the government to accelerate the integration of national cybersecurity. According to him, without the PDP implementing regulation and without a clear executing body, the public will continue to become repeated victims of data breaches.
Conclusion:
Purbaya’s statement was not merely a “joke” but a strong alarm that Indonesia urgently needs an integrated cybersecurity architecture, solid inter-agency synergy, and faster technical regulation to fully implement the PDP Law in order to protect public data.
Read More: BSSN Enhances Indonesia’s Cybersecurity Preparedness through Strategic Measures