Deputy speaker of the Indonesian House of Representatives Muhaimin Iskandar underscored three steps to address the alleged data leak of six million COVID-19 patients managed by the Health Ministry.

“First, we have to follow up on the Personal Data Protection Bill (RUU PDP),” Iskandar stated at the Parliament Complex here on Friday.

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has guaranteed that the protection of citizens’ personal data is a matter of grave concern for the government and is an inseparable component of human rights.

Jokowi has instructed Minister of Communication and Informatics Johnny G. Plate as well as other relevant ministries and institutions to immediately finalize the personal data protection bill along with the parliament.

According to Iskandar, the second step entailed involving information technology experts to ensure that the data can be kept safe and confidential.

The third step is public awareness to protect the personal data of people properly.

Earlier, data on COVID-19 patients belonging to the Ministry of Health was allegedly leaked and sold on dark forums or raid forums. The allegedly leaked documents contained patients’ medical records.

The Ministry of Communication and Informatics is currently following up on allegations of patients’ data breach on the Ministry of Health’s servers.

“In response to the news circulating regarding the alleged leak of patient’s data managed by the Ministry of Health, the Minister of Communication and Informatics has ordered the relevant ranks to communicate intensively with the Ministry of Health and start the process of further tracing in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations,” spokesperson from Ministry of Communication and Informatics Dedy Permadi stated on January 6.

The Ministry of Health has also taken internal steps to address this alleged data leak, including through coordinating with the National Cyber and Crypto Agency (BSSN).

The Ministry of Communication and Informatics has urged the public and private electronic system (PSE) operators, especially those managing personal data, to focus on the feasibility and reliability of processing personal data.

Feasibility and reliability are related to the aspects of technology, governance, and human resources.

Source: Antara News