Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesia put into operation a new cyber securityagency on January 3 to deal with online religious extremism and fake news onsocial media.
The National Cyber and Encryption Agency (BSSN) isresponsible for cracking down on terrorist networks and tackling the rampantcases of hoaxes and fake news on social media.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo named Major General DjokoSetiadi, former chairman of the country’s encryption agency, as Chairman of theBSSN.
More than 150 million out of 255 million Indonesians are nowestimated to be Internet users, posing a concern about the spread of hoaxes andfake news.
Indonesia has long struggled with Islamic militancy andattacks, including the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, mostlyforeign tourists, in the country’s worst-ever terror attack.
Last week, Indonesia said it was adding some 600 morepersonnel to the ranks of its counter-terrorism police in a bid to crack downon Islamic State-inspired groups and other militants.-VNA