Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesia’s strategic location and economic assets make it vulnerable to espionage, including the theft of commercial and industrial secrets, experts said, calling for stronger legal safeguards.
Edy Prasetyono, executive director of the University of Indonesia’s ASEAN Study Center, said in Jakarta on Wednesday that sensitive commercial and industrial information could give other countries economic or strategic advantages.
“Indonesia is highly vulnerable to espionage because of its strategic geographic position. Trade and industrial secrets that give a country an advantage will certainly be targets. We therefore need a more comprehensive framework,” he said.
In his opinion, espionage regulations should clearly define activities involving economic, military, and political information to provide an adequate legal basis for addressing them.
Ardi Sutedja, chairman of the Indonesia Cyber Security Forum (ICSF), shared that view, saying digitalization has made critical information easier to obtain and harder to detect when stolen.
“Critical data on the economy, society, culture, and other areas are now digital. That makes it easier for others to obtain such information digitally, while making their activities harder to detect,” Ardi said.
Indonesia is facing an era of espionage involving increasingly sophisticated technology, requiring stronger cybersecurity capabilities and laws that keep pace with technological advances, he said.
“I agree that the definition of espionage in the Criminal Code should be expanded to reflect current conditions, including digital technology. Espionage tools and the speed of data collection have changed,” he said.
Meanwhile, lawmaker TB Hasanuddin, a member of Commission I of the House of Representatives, said espionage involves gathering information on ideological, political, and economic matters. Indonesia also conducts intelligence operations abroad.
The State Intelligence Agency (BIN), however, has limited authority and cannot conduct further criminal investigations or make arrests, he said.
Hasanuddin proposed two options to strengthen the response: better enforce existing laws or draft a dedicated anti-espionage law.
“Espionage involves gathering information on issues ranging from ideology and politics to the economy. Indonesia therefore needs a stronger legal framework to address activities that increasingly use digital technology,” he said.
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Translator: Sean FM, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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