Jakarta. Artificial intelligence (AI) adoption is accelerating in Indonesia as companies and government agencies race to integrate AI-powered assistants to streamline processes and improve efficiency. But the growing use of these tools is raising concerns over data sovereignty and the security of the infrastructure used to process sensitive information.

The risks are growing alongside AI adoption. PwC’s 2025 Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey, published in February 2026, found that 69% of Indonesian respondents had used AI in the previous 12 months, while 16% used it daily.

At a press conference for the AI Cyber Security Experience (AICX), cybersecurity experts and industry leaders warned that users may unknowingly expose confidential information by uploading internal documents and sensitive data to global AI platforms without adequate safeguards.

Patrick Dannacher, president director of ITSEC Asia, criticized organizations for overlooking security risks in their pursuit of efficiency. He compared adopting AI without proper safeguards to hiring a new employee and immediately granting them unrestricted access to confidential information.

“Adopting AI is very easy; the learning curve is short. But are we truly prepared to understand its impact on privacy and business? Imagine AI as a new employee. Would you grant a new employee access to all financial, HR and operational data on their first day? Of course not when it comes to employees, but with AI, we turn a blind eye simply because we’re desperate for efficiency,” Dannacher said.

The warning comes against a backdrop of persistent cybersecurity threats in Indonesia. The National Cyber and Crypto Agency (BSSN) detected more than 56 million data-exposure findings affecting 461 stakeholders through darknet monitoring in 2024 and issued 1,367 notifications of suspected cyber incidents.

Data Processing and Information Sovereignty

Another critical issue is where data is processed and stored. When companies or public institutions upload sensitive documents to AI platforms, they may not know precisely where the information is handled or whether it crosses national borders, potentially raising questions about data sovereignty and regulatory compliance.

Steve Saerang, group head of communications at ITSEC Asia, said Indonesia’s Personal Data Protection Law and information security standards such as ISO 27001 needed to be effectively implemented in the AI era.

Regulatory efforts to establish clear rules for AI governance and data center security have struggled to keep pace with technological innovation, the experts warned.

Without stronger oversight and security measures built into systems from the outset — an approach known as “security by design” — the rapid adoption of AI in Indonesia could increase the risk of large-scale data breaches.

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