The US Department of Justice has indicted four Vietnamese nationals believed to be members of the FIN9 hacking group for cyberattacks that caused more than $71 million in damage to US companies.
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A cyber attack using a new variant of the Lockbit 3.0 malware led to long delays at immigration checkpoints and disrupted several government services. Automated passport machines have stopped working, the Ministry of Communications of the country reported. Minister Boudi Arieh Setiadi said the main focus now is on restoring services at the affected national data center, including immigration checks. The minister did not say whether the ransom was paid.
Lockbit is a cybercriminal group known for using ransomware for digital extortion. Such programs encrypt victims’ data, offering a decryption key in exchange for a ransom, usually in cryptocurrency. If payment is refused, hackers may threaten to leak or destroy confidential data. According to communications ministry spokesman Samuel Abrijani Pangerapan, a digital forensics investigation is underway.
The attack is the latest in a series of cyberattacks that have hit Indonesian companies and government agencies over the past few years. Last year, the media reported on the publication of the data of 15 million customers of the country’s largest Islamic bank, Bank Syariah Indonesia (BSI). In 2022, Indonesia’s central bank was also attacked by ransomware, but its public services were not affected at the time. In 2021, a vulnerability in the Ministry of Health’s COVID-tracking application led to the leak of personal data and medical status of 1.3 million people.
Cybersecurity expert Teguh Aprianto said the latest attack is “serious” and is the first time Indonesia’s government services have been disrupted for days. He emphasized that this situation revealed problems in government infrastructure, qualifications of workers and service providers.
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