APJII Jakarta Chapter: 5G Technology Can Boost the Digital Economy, But Also Increase Cyber Security Risks

JAKARTADAILY.ID - Tedi Supardi Muslih, Head of the Jakarta Chapter of the Indonesian Internet Service Provider Association, said that 5G technology can help accelerate the digital economy, but also warned that hyperconnectivity also comes with greater cyber security risks.

Tedi, whose Jakarta Chapter harbors about 300 member companies consisting of Internet Service Providers and companies in the related businesses, warned that hyperconnectivity can also pose threats to the nation's security and the digital ecosystem in the country.

"Industry players and all the stakeholders must maintain high-security standards when implementing the (5G) technology and ensure safety for the entire nation," Tedi said during the second day of an event called the "Indonesia 4.0 Conference and Expo 2022," which was held in hybrid online and offline at Birawa Assembly Hall, Bidakara tower in Jakarta, Thursday, August 25, 2022.

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The event was hosted by the Indonesian Ministry of Industry, through its standardization agency, known as BSKJI, in collaboration with an event organizer PT Naganaya Indonesia Internasional, and the Federation of Indonesian Information and Technology (FTI).

Tedi, who is also a cyber security expert, said that 5G technology can further transform the nation's digital economy, but the entire nation also needs to be mindful that cyber criminals may have more entry points and advantages from the hyperconnectivity from the 5G technology.

Cyber security risks, he said, may challenge the country on various fronts, related to the nation's ideology, politics, economic, social, cultural, and defense sectors.

"(The) pentahelix approach needs to be optimized," he said, referring to a concept of collaboration between academics, businesses, community, the government, and media (ABCGM)," he said. 

Tedi said the government's plan to further transform the digital sector in Indonesia needs more than a faster internet connection but also a more equal distribution of internet services in the country, especially in the Frontier, Outermost, and Least Developed (3T) regions.

Tedi added that the 5G technology will change the landscape of the nation's industrial sector because the technology offers 10-100 times more speed than the 4G technology and has ultra low latency, which allows ultra fast internet connections.

The cybersecurity expert, who is also one of the founders of Cyberthreat.id, a cyber-security specialist news portal in Indonesia, cited data from Speedtest Global Index in July 2022 which showed that the average mobile global performance download speed from Indonesia currently stood at 75.78 Mbps for downloads and 14.17 Mbps for uploads with 36 ms latency speed.

Indonesia ranks 107 of 140 countries, according to the index.

The internet speed in Indonesia is slower than the global average. The index shows that the global average for Fixed Broadband Global Performance has a download speed of 136.37 Mbps and upload speed of 75.95 Mbps with 18 ms latency.

Also read: Tedi Supardi Elected as Chairman of the Regional Management of APJII DKI 2021-2024