Agency Name: | National Cyber and Crypto Agency |
Nativename R: | Indonesian: Badan Siber dan Sandi Negara |
Seal: | Logo BSSN new.png |
Preceding1: | National Crypto Agency |
Preceding2: | Cyber Information Defense and Security Desk, 7th Deputy (Coordination of Communication, Information, and Apparatuses), Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs |
Preceding3: | Directorate of Information Security, Ministry of Communication and Information Technology |
Preceding4: | Indonesia Security Incident Response Team on Internet Infrastructure/Coordination Center, Directorate of Application and Informatics, Ministry of Communication and Information Technology |
Jurisdiction: | Indonesia |
Chief1 Name: | Lieutenant General (Ret.) Hinsa Siburian |
Chief1 Position: | Chief |
Chief2 Name: | Police Inspector General Soetanto |
Chief2 Position: | Vice Chief |
National Cyber and Crypto Agency (Indonesian: Badan Siber dan Sandi Negara||State Cyber and Signal Agency, abbreviated as BSSN), is Indonesia's primary signal intelligence agency, as well as cyber intelligence, cyber threat intelligence, cyber defense, and cyber security agency.[1]
The foundation of the National Cyber and Crypto Agency is not separated from two preceding agencies, National Crypto Agency (Indonesian: Lembaga Sandi Negara,, abbreviated as Indonesian: Lemsaneg) and Cyber Information Defense and Security Desk (Indonesian: Desk Ketahanan dan Keamanan Informasi Cyber Nasional, abbreviated as Indonesian: DK2ICN).
Lemsaneg was the primary signal intelligence agency of Indonesia. It was founded by Lieutenant Colonel (then finally attained rank of Major General) Dr., a medical doctor assigned to Indonesia's intelligence department at that time, Section B of the Ministry of Defense. At that time, this section was mainly responsible to make strategic intelligence analyses for war purposes. He was assigned to the department by Amir Sjarifuddin, Ministry of Defence at that time, to build a unit for signal intelligence. On 4 April 1946, Code Service (Indonesian: Dinas Code) was founded. As a medical doctor, he did not have any background or formal training in intelligence and signal intelligence. However, during the wartime and his assignment, he completed various crash courses in intelligence and signal intelligence. In 1949, during the Dutch-Indonesian Round Table Conference period, he completed a signal intelligence course from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Although just gaining knowledge from the courses, with his intelligence, intuition, logic, book readings, and imagination, he was finally able to make his own cryptography methods. His cryptography methods proved useful to secure the transmission of secret messages and government communications, during wartime and peacetime.[2]
On 2 September 1949, the Code Service renamed as Crypto Bureau (Indonesian: Djawatan Sandi (old spelling), Indonesian: Jawatan Sandi (new spelling)), thru Ministry of Defense Decree No. 11/MP/1949, and placed under the Ministry of Defense. On 16 January 1950, based from Presidential Decree No. 65/1950, Crypto Bureau separated on the Ministry of Defense to directly under the Office of The Prime Minister of Indonesia.[3]
On 22 February 1972, thru Presidential Decree No. 7/1972, Crypto Bureau was renamed as National Crypto Agency (Indonesian: Lembaga Sandi Negara,, abbreviated as Lemsaneg).[4] Since then the name carried out until 2017.
DK2ICN was a coordinating desk under 7th Deputy (Coordination of Communication, Information, and Apparatuses) of Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs. The desk created thru Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Decree No. 24/2014.[5] The coordination desk was a consortium and membered by representatives from: Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs, Agency of Assessment and Application of Technology (, abbreviated as BPPT), Indonesian Telematic Society (Indonesian: Masyarakat Telematika Indonesia, abbreviated as Mastel), Association of Indonesia Internet Provider (Indonesian: Asosiasi Penyedia Jasa Internet Indonesia, abbreviated as APJII), Indonesian Internet Domain Name Registry (Indonesian: Pengelola Nama Domain Internet Indonesia, abbreviated as PANDI), and independents.
Along with the decree, the proposal of future National Cyber Agency (Indonesian: Badan Cyber Nasional, abbreviated as BCN) drafted by National Security Council (Indonesian: Dewan Ketahanan Nasional, abbreviated as Wantannas) also included. Until the agency formed, DK2ICN still activated to carry out the cyber defense and cyber intelligence function.[6]
Predecessor of DK2ICN was National Cyber Security Desk (Indonesian: Desk Keamanan Siber Nasional, abbreviated as DKSN) under Wantannas in 2013. DK2ICN itself later renamed as National Cyberspace Desk (Desk Cyberspace Nasional, abbreviated as DCN) under Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs in 2016.[7]
Prior to the formation of BSSN, state cyber activities were carried out by the military intelligence agency and Cyber Operations Unit, Police (Directorate of Cyber Crime of Criminal Investigation Agency), State Intelligence Agency (Deputy VI), Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs (7th Deputy), Ministry of Defense (Cyber Defense Center), Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (Directorate of Informatics Application Control, Directorate of Information Security, and ID-SIRTII/CC), Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Directorate of Diplomatic Security of General Directorate Public Information and Diplomatics), and each ministry's Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT). Each agency had its own interests and functions, but mainly contributed for security purposes and protecting their own cyber infrastructure.[8]
Joko Widodo, however, seems unpleased with BCN proposal. He thinked that proposed BCN still lacking something important: infrastructure and human resources. Due to infeasibility of the formation of a new agency such as BCN, he later chose to upgrade Lemsaneg, which have preexisting infrastructures and readily available human resources. He subsequently combined Lemsaneg and DK2ICN into new agency: BSSN.[9] On 19 May 2017, Presidential Decree No. 53/2017, the constituting document of BSSN, was signed by him. The decree also ordered that Ministry of Communication and Information Technology's Directorate of Information Security, and ID-SIRTII/CC to be handed to BSSN to provide BSSN access to state IT infrastructure security and state network protection. The decree, however, decreed that the BSSN become subordinate of Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs for temporary for coordinating purposes.[10] On 16 December 2017, he signed Presidential Decree No.133/2017. The decree taking out the BSSN from Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs to be directed under the President.[11]
Latest organization structure of BSSN was established thru Presidential Decree No. 28/2021.[12] The structure later expanded by Chief of BSSN Decree No. 4/2023.[13]
BSSN, since was developed from Lemsaneg, it inherited Lemsaneg's primary training facility, STSN (Indonesian: Sekolah Tinggi Sandi Negara), which now become PoltekSSN (Indonesian: State Signal Polytechnics).
In past, during the war time (around 1947), Indonesian: Dinas Code held internships for who interested to be signal intelligence practitioners and operators. During its foundation period in peace time, in 1950s–1960s (now known as Indonesian: Djawatan Sandi), Indonesian: Djawatan Sandi relied on a special training program called Indonesian: Pendidikan Sandiman dan Juru Sandi (Education of Signal Operators and Signal Expert). In 1969, the program was elevated into a program called Indonesian: Pendidikan Ahli Sandi Gaya Baru (New Style Signal Expert Education). In 1973, the program was later upgraded and with many resources at that time to become a school called AKSARA (Indonesian: Akademi Sandi Negara, State Signal Academy). The school was later formally established in 1974 and gained approval by the Department of Education and Culture in 1975. AKSARA subsequently became STSN in 2002, and was formally established as an official state school by Presidential Decree No. 22/2003.[14]
STSN became PoltekSSN in 2019, after Ministry of Research, Technology, and Higher Education Decree No. 03/M/I/2018 on upgrading STSN to Polytechnics. It was later approved through Ministry of State Apparatuses and Bureaucratic Reform Decree No. B/1007/M.KT.01/2019, and Chief of BSSN Decree No. 12/2019.
Aside of PoltekSSN rigorous education to train future BSSN members, BSSN also held less rigorous training for field and applied operators from another institutions. This program is called Indonesian: Diklat Sandiman (Signal Operators Short courses), which is available in 2 levels: Level II (Signal Operators) and Level I (Signal Expert).[15]