The international community has now entered a new phase of strategic competition that no longer relies solely on conventional military strength. The digital space has become an arena of battle that determines a country’s position and security. This phenomenon is widely known as the Digital Battlefield, where cyberattacks can undermine a country’s political, economic, and security stability without a single bullet being fired.
Cyber attacks are not just a shadow threat; they are real, fast, and destructive. The leakage of data belonging to millions of Indonesians, ransomware attacks on public institutions, and the manipulation of information in cyberspace are just a few signs that Indonesia is unwittingly at war in the digital realm.
From a strategic perspective, cyber warfare is an example of the shift from traditional security to non-traditional issues, which emphasize non-military aspects such as technology, information, and human security. Superpowers or core countries such as the United States, China, and South Korea have taken a stand to face threats in this era of globalization through the formation of Cyber Command, a state military unit that focuses on the digital space as part of national cyber security. However, Indonesia has yet to establish a similar structure that is capable of responding to digital threats in a comprehensive and coordinated manner.
From a non-traditional security perspective, cyber threats fall into the category of modern threats that transcend the boundaries of traditional security concepts focused on territory and military power. On that basis, cybersecurity is now seen as part of the concept of human security because the impact of data leaks, digital sabotage, or disinformation directly affects the security, privacy, and welfare of citizens.
The absence of a National Cyber Command makes Indonesia’s cyber defense fragile and irrelevant. Institutions such as BSSN, Kominfo, and TNI still work within their respective domains without a single strategic command line that unifies the direction of cyber defense policy. As a result, when cyberattacks occur, the state’s response tends to be slow and uncoordinated. In Keohane and Nye’s theory of complex interdependence, this condition makes the country more vulnerable because the more actors there are, the greater the gaps that can be exploited by outside parties to carry out digital penetration.
The establishment of a National Cyber Command is not merely an optional choice for Indonesia but an urgent necessity for strategic needs. This unit must become a cross-sector coordination center that combines intelligence, military, and civil technology capabilities into a single command system. With Cyber Command, Indonesia can have an early warning system, strengthen its cyber defense capabilities, and train personnel to deal with various forms of digital attacks, ranging from espionage and sabotage to disinformation.
With various cases of digital attacks occurring in Indonesia, as a large democratic country that is highly dependent on digital infrastructure, it is in a vulnerable position. Attacks on BPJS data, ministry data leaks, and a number of ransomware attacks on public systems confirm that Indonesia is in a digital conflict without adequate protection. This proves the relevance of the concept of asymmetric warfare, where weak actors can still paralyze large countries through cyberattacks.
Not only as a form of national resilience, the establishment of Cyber Command will also strengthen Indonesia’s position in regional security. Amidst increasing digital competition in the Indo-Pacific, cyber defense capabilities are an important factor in maintaining regional stability. Through initiatives such as ASEAN Cybersecurity Cooperation, Indonesia can take a leadership role in building a more inclusive and collaborative digital security order.
The establishment of Cyber Command is also closely related to the issue of digital sovereignty. The concept of sovereignty in cyberspace emphasizes that countries have the right to control, regulate, and protect their digital space. Without structured cyber defense capabilities, Indonesia’s digital sovereignty will always be under threat of foreign infiltration. Furthermore, Cyber Command can be a catalyst in the development of the national digital security industry. The deployment of experts, technological research, and the development of a cybersecurity ecosystem will strengthen defense while driving the transformation of the digital economy.
This is also in line with the concept of strategic national resilience, which is the ability of a country to survive and adapt in the face of modern threats. Thus, Indonesia is expected to be able to focus on threats that are non-traditional, such as cyber attacks, and view the establishment of a National Cyber Command as an urgent matter that needs to be expedited, because the state has an obligation to protect its information space from external intervention and manipulation.
The world is now not only fighting with military weapons such as bullets and tanks or bits and bytes, but also on a broader, more vicious stage: digital media. If Indonesia does not adapt quickly, it will not only be labelled as a backward or slow-developing country but also become an easy target for external parties. Because in digital media, the most deadly weapon is not missiles, but failed responses.
