Lianatasha, Staff, Leadership Strategic Support Division, National Cyber and Encryption Agency, Indonesia
By Chia Jie Lin
Women in GovTech 2018 Special Report.
I work in Badan Siber dan Sandi Negara (BSSN), a government institution that is dealing with information security and cybersecurity. Our responsibility is to manage and coordinate every entity and resource to build national security against cyber threats, including educating people about the importance of security awareness.
My job is to get information from other units to create strategic and critical decision support for our top management. Often, we need to accompany the top management in major activities, especially if related with big events or meetings with the President.
What has been the most exciting thing that you worked on in 2018?
My most exciting experience has been our institution’s transformation - not only in terms of structure and resources but also in becoming an institution with responsibility to create, coordinate and collaborate. We can’t handle it all ourselves, and we need to build up many relations and connections with other institutions and communities. Our whole year has been focused on that one important task.
If you were to share one piece of advice that you learned in 2018, what would it be?
It has been only one year since our institution transformed to a new structure. As a newborn baby, we really understand that being acknowledged by people is very important so they know our roles, our commitment, and contributions to people and the country - regardless that our core business to manage national cyber threats and security usually works behind the scenes and under the radar - just like National Security Agency of the United States.
Based on that mindset, we need to use every social media like Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, besides our website, to share our activities with the public.
What tool or technique particularly interests you for 2019?
Our institution has a unit called Balai Sertifikasi Elektronik (BSRE) whose main task is to provide and manage certificate authority for government institutions to support the implementation of e-government. We hope that every entity, government institution or even private sector, could start to using this for their activities to increase the development of e-government.
What are your priorities for 2019?
Ensuring that participation in the presidential and legistative elections will be orderly and safe.
What is one skill that has helped you the most throughout the course of your career?
Communication skill, and how to deal with others. My scope of work demands me to meet and interact with many people with different background and personalities; it is important to make yourself to be known and clearly understood by them.
What advancements do you predict will happen in your field in the next ten years?
With IoT on our doorstep, there are huge challenges for us to overcome cyber threat, especially as a third world country. With our collaboration with other institutions and communities that we have built up until now, we will embrace this challenge with great optimism.
Coffee, yoga, music… what powers you through your day?
As a mother of two little boys, 4 years and 8 months, my power begins with them. They always remind me to enjoy the work as a process of growth, to be patient, and to easily forgive mistakes cause everyone makes mistakes. I usually do video calls with them 3-4 times during the day.
After my work is done and before sleeping, I make time for my husband and I to talk about our day, laugh or just simply enjoy each other’s company.