Microsoft and Jakarta police team up to educate public on dangers of pirated software

In a report by Akamai Technologies last year, Indonesia was ranked as the number one source of hacking-related traffic in the world, overtaking China. The country is also a place where pirated software is used ubiquitously by individuals and businesses alike. Because pirated software often contains malicious malware, the widespread use of inauthentic software in Indonesia brings large potential threats each day to the nation’s digital infrastructure.

Today, Microsoft signed a memorandum of agreement (MoU) with the Jakarta police department to increase awareness and cybersecurity protection for consumers and businesses in the archipelago, reports local news portal Kompas.

The agreement is consistent with the country’s Copyright Act No. 28/2014, which mandates that the Indonesian government must protect consumers and businesses from the dangers of digital crime, as most of the nation’s software is pirated.

“Cyber crime and malware attacks have become major security concerns. Data from individuals and organizations is hijacked everyday, and some of these people and companies are manipulated so much that they disappear altogether, ” said Jakarta police commissioner Budi Widjanarko to the press earlier today. “We are committed to helping communities and institutions become more aware of the importance of online security and the use of genuine software.”

President director of Microsoft Indonesia Andreas Diantoro said if the local copyright act is followed properly, productivity and efficiency in business is sure to increase in Indonesia. “For Microsoft, that’s the main purpose of this, to protect consumers all across Indonesia,” said Diantoro. However, Microsoft loses money when people pirate software instead of buy it, which could be an incentive for the company to cooperate with the police on this particular initiative.

The implementation of the MoU between the Jakarta police and Microsoft is also meant to serve as a building block to begin educating the public about intellectual property rights. Microsoft will provide capacity building training to help law enforcement officials better understand the world of cybercrime in Indonesia.

See: Indonesia’s worst online scams and how to report them

Editing by Terence Lee and Paul Bischoff; lead image from Old media