Notorious Indonesian Hacker Might be Recruited by the Police

Credit: memegenerator.net

I read some news today that made me quite happy, and it’s not about the Blackberry Z10 pre-orders in Indonesia.

Remember Wildan Yani Ashari? The hacker who defaced the Indonesian president’s site in January. Instead of the disproportional jail time that Wildan would face, the national police hinted yesterday that they might use Wildan’s help inside the police cyber crime unit.

Arief Sulistyo, the national police’s special crimes chief spoke to Tempo yesterday about the 22-year old hacker’s possible recruitment:

It is very possible. We recruit hackers and educate them about positive activities and ask their help in securing Indonesian cyberspace,

The police had informed Wildan’s father that his son will receive special training and be recruited. While Wildan will still undergo the legal process regarding his crime, another police representative said that he can receive another sentencing at court.

This is wonderful news. Wildan’s arrest has attracted quite a commotion, as other local hackers showed their support for Wildan by defacing numerous other government official sites after the incident. Wildan himself is a self-taught hacker who graduated from a vocational school studying architectural engineering ¹. Before his arrest, Wildan worked as an operator at an internet cafe in East Java.

This is a great move made by the Indonesian police. The biggest message sent by Wildan’s fellow hackers was that the government shouldn’t punish them, but instead teach and recruit them to help fight off foreign hackers who can attack the country’s systems. And if this goes through, then it will become a huge precedent that there is room for hackers in Indonesia to grow.

Hackers being hired by local authorities and big companies is now becoming common practice even among companies like Apple and Microsoft which also picked up teenagers who hacked their systems.

(Source: Tempo via Jakarta Globe)