April 16, 2025
JAKARTA – The government is encouraging Indonesian smartphone users to use embedded SIM (eSIM) cards, which are deemed more secure against hacking and some other cyberattacks compared to their conventional counterparts.
Communications and Digital Minister Meutya Hafid signed a ministerial regulation on eSIM on Friday as part of an effort to prevent data leaks and identity theft through the misuse of telephone numbers.
“For now, the migration [into eSIM] is not yet mandatory. However, we’re urging people using compatible devices to shift immediately,” the minister said in a statement issued on Friday.
In Indonesia, eSIM was first introduced by private telecommunication service provider Smartfren. More companies followed suit in the coming years, including Indosat in December 2022, XL Axiata and state-owned telco Telkomsel.
But the technology is mostly only compatible with either high-end or flagship gadgets released after 2020.
Read also: Local telcos rush to eSIM despite risks
Unlike the conventional SIM that uses a physical chip card, eSIM uses a module permanently planted inside a smartphone which is capable of storing multiple phone numbers in a single device, although only one can be active at a time.
The technology allows users to easily switch to another number without plugging in and out physical cards. Indonesian smartphone users can either buy new eSIM phone numbers or migrate their old physical ones into eSIM, as long as their device is compatible.
Meutya highlighted rising concerns about the malicious use of phone numbers through identity theft by way of a user’s identity card number (NIK).
The government allows an individual holding an NIK to register three numbers from three different providers at most.
“There’s a case where a single NIK number is used to register more than 100 phone numbers,” the minister said. “This is very risky for cybercrime and may cause the NIK holder to be held responsible for any troubles caused by the usage of the numbers.”
The government is planning to issue a new regulation to tighten the usage of NIK to register phone numbers, as well as to strengthen identity verification when a user registers a new number.