Indonesia has copped a string of cyber breaches with its latest e-visa glitch exposing sensitive traveler information to strangers. Indonesia just recently implemented smart autogates at airports across the country, designed to streamline the customs process.
Unfortunately, a few months after the installation, it suffered a major data breach which immigration is “aware” of and is reportedly in the process of fixing.
What Happen?
The passport details of some Australians traveling to Bali are being inadvertently exposed to strangers due to a glitch in Indonesia's electronic visa system. Tourists have reported cases where their personal information was exposed to others while scanning QR codes on their visa documents.
The incident is linked to a technical flaw in the e-visa database, discovered shortly after the rollout of autogate systems at airports nationwide. The extent of the breach remains unclear, potentially affecting thousands of tourists who utilized the e-visa system.
Indonesia has been experiencing repeated data leaks, despite measures already in place. There are some suggestions that immigration should first halt the use of the system and fix the problem before resuming back operations More professionalism was expected when handling this issue.
In August, Indonesia's civil service agency urged staff to reset passwords after the details of 4.7 million people were offered for sale on a hacked data forum.