Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – As wary residents brace themselves for more surprise attacks after the bombing of the Jakarta Stock Exchange building, businesses offering security-related products have moved to cash in on the moment.

One such product, a type of window film that can reduce the impact of broken glass, is growing in demand, going by the product's increasingly aggressive advertising campaign. Known as the "security film" as opposed to the regular tinted "solar film", has long been a standard device for the buildings of high-profile embassies, such as the US embassy. Now retailers are trying to grab the attention of lesser-known embassies, offices and even ordinary homeowners.

Ms Eli Halim, whose company distributes the US-made 3M, said her list of major clients in Jakarta – which includes the US embassy, the United Nations building, Citibank and several other multinational companies – had increased since the September 13 explosion that ripped apart the basement parking lot of the stock exchange building.

In the last six months, PT Saiba Kurnia Sentosa's sales of the window film for buildings and homes had risen 30 per cent, she said, adding that the company is "currently in negotiations with two foreign embassies".

Another company, PT Perisai Sakti Indonesia, entered the market selling USafe window films just early this month, shortly after two bomb attacks in July and last month, but before the stock exchange blast. "We have researched the market since last year, and concluded that this business could grow here because the issue of security still remains a concern," Company General Manager Georgius Herman Gunawan, told The Straits Times. "Our perfect timing is coincidental."

The security window film is not a designated lifesaver. It cannot prevent a glass from breaking, but can instead, with its specific adhesive material, hold the pieces of broken glass together for a little longer. This way the glass will not shatter into pieces. The security film can also hold broken glass caused by quakes or a major tremble such as that in a bombing incident.

Ms Eli said during the bombing of the Philippine envoy's residence on August 1, a diplomat living five doors from the blast site, was spared having pieces of shattered glass strewn around, because of the window film.

Still, it may be a while before the security film make its way into many Indonesians' homes. The average price for a square meter of the film for domestic use varies between US$30 and US$33 (S$51 and US$56), a price which only very affluent Indonesians, embassy staffers and expatriates can afford.

This is why the two companies, one of a number of existing distributors of the product, are focusing more on selling window films for cars where the prevalence of street crimes make it immediately relevant to buyers. The most notorious of these is the attack by "ax-wielding robbers" who ambush a lone driver at a traffic light, break the window, and take whatever they can before disappearing into the frenzied traffic.