President’s Office Says No Documents Have Been Compromised
Jakarta. The office of President Joko Widodo confirmed on Saturday that there are no presidential documents that have been leaked to the public, dismissing wild speculations among internet users that a hacker has successfully broken into the president’s digital communication system.
“There are no data or letters that have been hacked. But of course, any attempt to break into [the government data system] is against the law and I think law enforcement agencies will take action,” said Heru Budi Hartono, the head of the presidential secretariat.
His remarks came after a user of the social media platform Telegram claimed to have gained access to the president’s mailing system and stolen nearly 680,000 documents, including letters from the State Intelligence Agency (BIN).
The self-proclaimed hacker goes with the name “Bjorka”, who previously also claimed to be the brain behind the hacking of 1.3 billion cellular phone card registrations.
The claim was first reported by anonymous Twitter user “Darktracer” who reposted screenshots of Bjorka’s list of purported stolen president’s documents.
Subjects of the “leaked” documents appear to be non-classified, such as the rehearsal for the 2019 Independence Day flag-hoisting ceremony.
“Bjorka” has been trending on Twitter since Friday evening.
In a discussion with Jakarta-based radio station Trijaya on Saturday, BIN spokesman Wawan Hari Purwanto said the intelligence agency always upgrades security systems and encryption technology in protecting state documents.
“We remain vigilant because this kind of threat is continuous and we need to take preventive measures,” Wawan said.
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