- 14/01/2021
- Category: Press Release
Digitalization in people’s lives has had a significant impact, both in personal security and community security. To see CfDS again held Difussion # 36 with the title “Why (Not) Digital,” by inviting Irnasya Shafira and Fajar Cahyono as CfDS researchers. Irnasya Shafira presented a topic about data theft that often occurs in cyberspace, with the title “The Ghosts in Our Wires: A Contemplation on the Looming Threat of Identity Theft in the Cyberspace.” Meanwhile, Fajar Cahyono discussed the direct election and e-voting polemic under the title “PILKADA 2020: Coronavirus, Online Voting, and Security Risk”. This event is held through the Google Meet platform, and broadcast live via YouTube livestream on Friday (23/10).
“Ghosts” following us in Cyberspace
Irnasya Shafira, or Ines, asked all of the participants to discuss our virtual world activities. “Ghosts” are referred to as the shadows of crime activities in real life that now have reached cyberspace, such as data theft and the possibility of online scamming. According to Ines, with so many data leakages in various e-commerce platforms or government institutions, it should be the motivation for the government to formulate the regulation of personal data protection. Apart from that, society’s awareness is necessary for distributing their private data carefully in cyberspace. The awareness of Indonesian society in protecting personal data is still deficient, even though the consequences of data theft is harmful.
The efforts in attempting data theft and cyber-attacks are increasing during the pandemic, where most of the activities depend on the internet. Ines also explained some points that could be done in preventing data theft, which is education and intervention in society if needed. In conclusion, comprehensive regulations concerning personal data protection are urgently needed to prevent personal data theft, which supports raising social awareness in protecting their data in cyberspace.
The possibility of e-voting in Pilkada 2020
During the second session, Fajar Cahyono discussed the possibility of implementing e-voting in Pilkada 2020. The Indonesian government plan to conduct the 2020 election is considered worrying for society and counterproductive with the COVID-19 mitigation efforts. Fajar then elaborated on various options in conducting an election, which is enacting election directly with health protocol or postponing the election until further notice. These two options have their advantages and limitations, where the first option needs a considerable cost in providing health protocol equipment, and the second option will incur high political costs. Therefore, according to Fajar, the third option enables people to vote via online or e-voting. Although it sounds like the most promising option, however conducting online voting is not as easy as it is seen. Human interactions could be minimalized with online voting and reduce the election budgets in producing voting ballots and the human workforce. Meanwhile, on the other side, the security aspect has become the most problematic, as the possibility of cybercrime is massive and might harm the system itself. Fajar also argued that e-voting lacks transparency and accountability, which increases the risk of election fraud. “Indonesia is deemed unprepared to held online voting. Indonesia still needs to reflect on the conduct of e-voting on other countries,” said Fajar. After that, prioritizing the data’s security will be very necessary if the e-voting wants to be held successfully.
