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Indonesia Probing Alleged Breach of COVID-19 Test Data, Reports Suggest

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Indonesian government is investigating reports that personal data of 230,000 people who took COVID-19 tests were leaked online, the Jakarta Post outlet reported.
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The outlet reported Sunday that a hacker under the username Database Shopping had offered up detailed personal information, such as names and addresses, of all those who underwent coronavirus tests in the tourism hotspot of Bali for a mere $300.

Communication and Information Technology Minister Johnny Plate said the ministry and the National Cyber and Encryption Agency told the Strait Times they were looking into the case.

"The COVID-19 database and the results of the examinations at the ministry's data centre are safe," Plate told the newspaper in a text message.

The minister added that the ministry is assessing databases in other ministries to ensure that no hacks have occurred.

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"This issue has been handed over to the Communication and Information Technology Ministry and the national police' criminal investigation department," Spokesman for Indonesia’s COVID-19 Response Acceleration Task Force Achmad Yurianto, told The Straits Times.

Data breaches in Indonesia have been increasing in frequency and severity, the media reported, with the information of some 15 million users of the country’s biggest e-commerce platform put up for sale for $5,000 last month.

The Personal Data Protection Bill is on the parliament’s priority list for this year, the newspaper reported.

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