Cyber laws Related to Prevention of Theft of Information Related to Acquisition of Land and Infrastructure Resources in Indonesia

Abstract

There are many hackers and cyber criminals that are engaged in acquisition of land, immovable property, through fake property and land papers and the use of false name or identity. This paper attempted to identify the concerning laws that govern the control and prevention of cybercrimes related to theft of information and data related to acquisition of land and infrastructure. A qualitative research design was adopted for this study, collecting the data from library resources, legal archives, case studies and informal discussions with land officials in the BPN offices of various regions of Indonesia. The findings reveal the prevalence of harmful acts such as theft of information and digital data from land registration departments by trespassing cyberspace and resorting to computer vandalism. Hackers are seen having the illegal access to bank or credit data, and data related to the ownership of land, infrastructure and securities. Several legal initiatives have been taken by the Indonesian government including empowering the National Land Agency (Badan Pertanahan Nasional, or BPN) to act as a monitoring agency and to update, digitize, and record land titles more accurately   the joint operations of the Ministry of Electronic Information Law (MEIL) and, the Ministry of Communication and Informatics (MOCI) also identified a few standards and regulators to ensure data privacy and data protection.  The study recommends to frame new laws and amendments made to restrict the cyberbullying activities in the acquisition of land and falsification of documents. The study also found that there exists a nexus between the fraudsters and the land officials that gives more freedom to execute such offences.