UNAIR NEWS – In the digital age, personal data leak can happen anytime and to anyone. Recently, Indonesia has faced an anonymous hacking attack by Bjorka, who claimed to have leaked billions of population data. Moreover, he also admitted that he had leaked the data of high-ranking government officials and reveal the data on social media.
As a response, UNAIR Communications lecturer Dr Suko Widodo Drs MSi in Perhumas Surabaya activity said that data leak could incur a risk of loss to anyone. One of the risks of data leak is its misuse for illegal transactions, such as illegal online loans without personal knowledge.
Data leaks can also be misused for other motives, as Dr. Suko stated on Wednesday, September 14, 2022. He mentioned that widespread personal data can be misused for personal interests, such as political, economic, and other interests.
“Like the Trump case, it was socially engineered with various motives, such as economics, power-showing, even politics, and various others,” he said.
Overcoming data leak is not easy. However, it is not an impossible thing to do. He explained the mitigation efforts that must be done to overcome the problem of data leakage.
For the government, it is necessary to create awareness on the importance of public data security. The government needs to warn the public that data is important and can cause harm if it is spread widely. In addition, the government also needs to improve people’s digital literacy because Indonesian people are still lacking in digital literacy.
Finally, Suko emphasized, the public must have the awareness to determine what is allowed and not allowed to be uploaded on the internet because one of the keys to data security is self-awareness.
“So, we have to be careful in this new age because what’s on cyberspace can become a reality, and the reality can be shared in cyberspace. A piece of advice, know what you upload or convey on the internet. And most importantly, know what not to say on social media,” he concluded.
Author: Yulia Rohmawati
Editor: Khefti Al Mawalia
