Indonesian cyberattack signals growing threat in Southeast Asia

JAKARTA -- A recent ransomware attack in Indonesia in which hackers locked up government data at more than 200 agencies highlights the need for stronger cybersecurity in Southeast Asia, experts say, as the region's digital boom exposes it to more frequent and sophisticated online threats.

As of Friday, Indonesia was still struggling to recover data stored in its temporary national data center in East Java following attacks last month by Brain Cipher, a new ransomware strain believed to be linked to the notorious LockBit 3.0 group. LockBit is thought to be responsible for ransomware attacks in a number of other countries in the past few years, including the Philippines and Malaysia.