National Cyber and Encryption Agency established in Indonesia

On 3 January, Indonesian President, Joko Widodo, swore in Djoko Setiadi as the Chief of the National Cyber and Encryption Agency – or Badan Siber dan Sandi Nasional. Djoko Setiadi is the former chairman of the National Encryption Agency.

This National Cyber and Encryption Agency was established based on a Presidential Regulation signed on December 16, 2017, which created the agency under the president’s authority. This is an amendment of a previous regulation, which established the agency as a state institution under the supervision of the Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister.

Some key functions of the agency include developing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating technical policies to act upon critical cyber issues, such as but not limited to e-commerce, encryption, filtering and cyber diplomacy.

In a recent news briefing after the ceremony, Setiadi stated that it is the agency’s responsibility to provide protection in the cyber world to government institutions, private companies, and most importantly, to the public.

The agency will track cyber crimes and identify perpetrators, but it remains unclear whether it will have the authority to prosecute crimes. Setiadi said that the agency will coordinate with the police, military, and other institutions with cyber capabilities on the information they check. The agency’s budget is to be announced this month, following discussions with parliament.