In his keynote address at the International Postgraduate Student Conference (IPGSC), an international conference for postgraduate students in International Relations held at Universitas Indonesia on October 23-24, 2025, Dr. Sulistyo, Deputy for Cyber Security and Government and Human Development Codes at the National Cyber and Crypto Agency (BSSN), emphasized that cyberspace represents a unique strategic domain characterized by its borderless nature—transcending geographical boundaries, lacking singular jurisdiction, and operating without a single governing authority. This condition fundamentally distinguishes cyberspace from physical domains such as land, sea, and air.
According to Sulistyo, this borderless character makes cyberspace not merely a digital infrastructure, but an arena with significant consequences for international stability and security.“Cyberspace penetrates national borders and blurs traditional concepts of sovereignty. Threats can emerge from anywhere, be perpetrated by anyone, and impact anyone,” he stated.
Borderless Cyberspace and Challenges to State Sovereignty
Within the framework of international security, the transboundary nature of cyberspace presents serious challenges. Cyberattacks on critical infrastructure, misinformation, and data manipulation can cross national borders within seconds. This complicates attribution, law enforcement, and collective responses. The absence of geographical boundaries creates new challenges for states: how to defend sovereignty in a domain that lacks physical territory? How to enforce rules in a domain where the primary actors are not always states? This borderless character also creates opportunities for non-state actors—ranging from criminal hackers to state-sponsored groups—to execute cross-border operations without physically breaching territorial boundaries.
Sulistyo also emphasized that borderless cyberspace has transformed how states perceive security threats. Cyber conflicts can occur without declarations of war, military mobilization, or violations of conventional territorial boundaries—yet remain capable of crippling economies, influencing domestic politics, and disrupting regional stability. In the context of great power rivalry, cyberspace has become a new arena for strategic competition. Control over digital technology, AI, quantum computing, and next-generation telecommunications has now become an instrument of state power, deepening the geopolitical dimension of the cyber domain.
Indonesia’s Response: Diplomacy, Multilateral Cooperation, and Strengthening Cyber Resilience
Facing the challenges of borderless cyberspace, Indonesia is strengthening its cyber diplomacy based on the principles of its independent and active foreign policy. Indonesia strives to ensure that global cyberspace governance remains inclusive and is not co-opted by geopolitical competition that disadvantages developing countries. Through forums such as ASEAN, the UN, and various other international cooperation regimes, Indonesia promotes: the establishment of norms for state behavior in cyberspace, confidence-building measures, enhanced cooperation in handling cross-border incidents, and strengthening regional capacity to address cyber threats.
Sulistyo emphasized that in a boundaryless domain like cyberspace, national resilience heavily depends on a state’s ability to build adaptive, responsive, and sustainable systems. He identified three strategic agendas. First, strengthening national cyber security capacity, including modernizing cyber defense architecture. Second, intensive international collaboration, as no country can secure cyberspace independently. And third, developing competent cyber human resources capable of operating in the global digital ecosystem.
“Cyber security is international security. In a space that knows no borders, the security of one country is deeply connected to the security of others,” he concluded.