A cyber attack in Indonesia that’s been called the worst in years exposed a critical mistake in the country’s information technology policy. Almost none of the data in one of the two data centers hit by the ransomware attack is backed up, meaning it cannot be restored other than by decrypting the affected servers’ storage systems.
The attack happened on June 20, when a “non-state actor” compromised Indonesia’s Temporary National Data Center (PDNS) using a variant of the LockBit 3.0 malware called Brain Cipher. This software not only extracts sensitive data but also encrypts it on the servers. The attacker has demanded a ransom of $8 million, which the government says it does not intend to pay.
