There is no room for complacency. A good example is Australia, which ranked 12th in the 2020 GCI. After getting into a diplomatic rift with Beijing after Canberra called for an investigation into the Covid-19 outbreak that started in Wuhan, China retaliated with not only economic sanctions but also with cyber attacks against Australian corporations, ministry of foreign affairs, intelligence agencies and even its universities. As one Australian parliamentarian put it, «economic coercion has not worked as well against us as China may have hoped, but cyber-attacks emanating from China against government entities and critical infrastructure is absolutely relentless.
If Indonesia is serious about improving its cybersecurity, as it should, then the national cyber security agency and its counterparts in the government should engage with foreign entities which are recognized as being the best in the field. One place to look for help is the United States, which ranks number one in the world for cyber security and would certainly understand the security benefits not only for Indonesia but also the Indo-Pacific region.
In order to deter bad actors such as China and North Korea from engaging in cyber attacks, Indonesia should also consider investing in its cyber offensive capabilities. Once Beijing and Pyongyang are aware that Indonesia has the ability to carry out counter-attacks in a proportionate manner to attributable intrusions, cyberattacks will become less frequent.