In an attempt to tackle online fraud and prepare for "cyber warfare", the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Ministry has set up a high-level committee to oversee cyber security in Thailand and initiate moves to combat online crime.

Called the ICT Security Committee, the new body has been assigned to oversee five key security-related areas: the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT), critical infrastructure, information warfare, public security and public awareness of the need for cyber security.

The move follows the recent establishment of similar organisations in the United States and the United Kingdom, following fears of what is now called "cyber warfare" – action taken by one country to penetrate the computers or networks of another country in order to cause damage or disruption.

Thailand’s new ICT Security Committee consists of 18 experts on information security from both private and government organisations. The ICT Ministry’s permanent secretary is its president.

Rom Hiranpruk, an adviser to the ICT Minister, is also an adviser to the new committee. He said the committee’s five areas of responsibility were settled at its first meeting.

The establishment of the committee demonstrates the ICT Ministry’s growing concern for Thailand’s cyber and information-technology security. Its formation is intended to pave the way for the eventual establishment of a National Cyber Security Agency, he said.

"In the past, these kinds of jobs have been separated into several departments of the ICT Ministry. This is the first time that all the tasks related to cyber security have been gathered into one place and the experts allowed to work together," Rom said.

He said the committee was a first step towards to the formation of a National Cyber Security Agency. However, creating such an agency will require cooperation from several other ministries. The ICT Ministry plans to submit a proposal to the Cabinet some time in the future for the formation of a national agency, after the newly-created Cyber Security Committee has been operating for a while and has produced tangible results.

"Upgrading the committee to become a National Cyber Security Agency would supposedly be the responsibility of the National Information and Communication Technology Committee, whose president is the prime minister, in order to effectively execute the plan and the agency’s mission," Rom said.

He said the government and the ICT Ministry were concerned about cyber security because it was a part of national security.

However, the government has allowed a serious gap to develop between the adoption of ICT and awareness of the need for security in its use. The rapid growth in popularity of social-networking sites and the increase of Internet usage in both work and daily life is expected to result in escalating cases of online fraud.

ACIS Professional Centre president and founder Prinya Hom-anek, who is a cyber security expert, is a member of the new committee. He said the priority for the government was to increase public awareness of cyber or ICT security, rather than continuing to promote the use and adoption of technology without warning users about the dangers that came with it.

"The government should regulate for ICT security, to help prevent fraud. It should also develop guidelines, or a manual, for people who are spending time online, explaining the things they should be concerned about, and where they should be careful. This would be better than letting people enjoy the Internet and the cyber world without awareness of the need for security," Prinya said.   

He said the top five trends in cyber-security threats this year were vulnerabilities of Web 2.0; mobile Malware; next-generation hacking (on behalf of criminals); insider threats and organised crime;  and insecure infrastructure and the pressures that brought to the growing business of outsourcing.

Security company Symantec has forecast that attacks against individual reputations will be a key security issue this year, and says the need for protection is becoming imperative. Social networks have been involved in very high-profile attacks.

Meanwhile, PTT’s ICT solutions chief security officer Chaiyakorn Apiwathanokul said that online threats were rising along with rapid increases in use of the Internet, ICT and mobile phones.

The government has been quite successful in encouraging both individuals and businesses to enhance their operations and life by using technology and the Internet, he said. But a lot of people who are now using these technologies are not concerned about, or not aware of, the security issues. They lack knowledge about cyber security and online threats. The gap between Internet use and this knowledge is getting bigger, and it is the duty of the government to take action and protect people and the country from new forms of cyber attack.

"The danger is that more people are using technology and the Internet without concern for security. Their online behaviour is leading them to be attacked by hackers. They are not aware, they do not have the knowledge, and they do not have the technology tools such as Internet security software to protect themselves at the first hand.

"These are urgent issues that the government must be concerned about. Cyber security must become a part of the national agenda," Chaiyakorn said.

Source:http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/2010/08/17/technology/Ministry-sets-up-ICT-security-committee-30136016.html 

BANGKOK — A group of anonymous Internet activists has set up a website to display information about Thailandthat comes from the whistle-blower site Wikileaks, which is blocked to some viewers in the Southeast Asian country.

The group calling itself "Wikicong" said Friday it set up the thaileaks.info site as "a tool to break the censorship" — an apparent reference to alleged efforts by the Thai government to block access to the material, which includes a private video of the country’s Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn.

Some access to the main Wikileaks site has been blocked in Thailand since at least late June. It has been accessible, however, using some variants of the domain name, and through some local Internet service providers.

Wikileaks drew worldwide publicity in late July when it posted a huge trove of secret U.S. military documentsabout the war in Afghanistan.

Aree Jiyorarak, director of the Computer Crime Office of Thailand’s Ministry of Information and CommunicationTechnology, told The Associated Press that Wikileaks is not blocked by his office, but may not be accessible because of a technical glitch.

"I know some people said that the website is blocked, but it’s only a server problem," he said. "I can access Wikileaks from my office. I can assure you that the website is not blocked."

Aree said about 1,300 websites were now blocked, mostly because they stream or have links to videos of political gatherings in Thailand. Other estimates put the number of blocked sites in the tens of thousands.

Thousands of anti-government demonstrators besieged the Thai capital for two months before a military crackdown scattered them in May. The street clashes between so-called Red Shirt protesters and governmentforces killed 91 people and injured more than 1,400, and Thai authorities have been wary about further unrest.

The most sensitive material about Thailand on the Wikileaks site is the video of the crown prince, heir apparent to 82-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej, having dinner with the woman who later became his wife. The video had been widely circulated inside Thailand, which has a strict lese majeste law that mandates a jail term of up to 15 years for anyone who "defames, insults, or threatens" the royal family.

In a "Message to the Government of Thailand" posted on its website, Wikicong dared Thai authorities to block the Wikileaks data. "We don’t worry much because there are hundreds, maybe thousands, of internauts ready to make that information reach its true destination: the people of Thailand," it said.

Contacted by e-mail, Wikicong said it began setting up the alternate site Wednesday, shortly after a widely circulated news report said Wikileaks had been shut down in Thailand. It said it has "no official ties" to Wikileaks.

"Wikicong is defending freedom of information everywhere, and right now we experience that Wikileaks is the target of several states and organizations who wish to stop them. We have stepped up in defense of their work," the group said.

Web censorship has occurred for years in Thailand. Reporters Without Borders says more than 50,000 websites or individual pages have been blocked. The pace of censorship picked up after a 2006 coup deposed then-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, setting off the sharp political battle between his Red Shirt supporters andgovernment backers.

A Computer Crime Act enacted in 2007 by an interim military-installed regime bars the circulation of material deemed detrimental to national security, or that causes public panic.

A state of emergency was declared after the recent protests, allowing the military to apply censorship without normal legal restraints. Satellite TV broadcasts and print publications were targeted, in addition to websites viewed as supporting the Red Shirts.

"In this instability, censorship might make sense to some people, but there’s the risk of increasing opposition and dissent," said media activist Supinya Klangnarong. "If Wikileaks is blocked, then next could be YouTube andFacebook. Then Thailand would be known for being the enemy of the Internet."

Source:http://blog.taragana.com/index.php/archive/wikicong-cyberactivists-launch-new-website-displaying-wikileaks-information-on-thailand/

One month has passed since Phitsanulok Democrat MP Juti Krairiksh was appointed minister for information and communication technology (ICT). Here, he talks to ANUCHA CHAROENPO and NAUVARAT SUKSAMRAN about what he has done to ensure all Thais have equal access to the cyber world and other digital services.

Juti: Rural IT project ‘60% complete’

What is your main duty at the ministry?

My duty is to follow up the government policies addressed by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, including developing efficient e-commerce [for both the government and private sector] and e-government networks as well as the IT system to reduce logistics costs.

More importantly, my work is to get involved with the establishment of high-speed internet networks in communities under "the Wireless Road project".

This project is being carried out by TOT Corporation and CAT Telecom.

The project is expected to be finished in five years, but I have said that I want it completed within two years.

The prime minister wants the project to help improve education for all Thais.

Where is the Wireless Road project located and how is the internet usage in the country?

The project is 60% complete. We have chosen remote border patrol police schools as the internet base sites. We connect them with the satellite signal. Also, we set up computers at remote community libraries across the country.

The internet usage in the country is still growing at a good rate, but it is limited to a particular group. The underprivileged still don’t have much access to the internet. The prime minister has instructed me to provide opportunities for them to have access to information technology.

How are people in remote areas able to understand and use the internet?

The ICT Ministry will sign an MoU [memorandum of understanding] with universities in each region, such as Naresuan University in the North and Walailak and Prince of Songkla universities in the South, to help train interested people to become IT experts. The ministry will also work with Rajabhat universities in regions to help train IT teachers. The ministry is also working with the Education Ministry’s Office of the Vocational Education Commission and the Labour Ministry to train IT and computer technicians.

How will you achieve all the tasks?

I sought approval from the cabinet to set up a public organisation to act as a secretariat office for five years to oversee transactions regarding e-commerce. In the first quarter of the year we had about 2 million e-commerce transactions and banking worth around 10 billion baht.

As for e-government, we will set up a national cyber security unit to protect against forms of computer threats.

How do you deal with websites critical of the monarchy?

We set up an office to specifically deal with this kind of threat and other websites deemed inappropriate for society, such as gambling and human and drugs trafficking. We have arrested three people who posted information and pictures critical of the monarchy.

Source:http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/186910/wireless-road-is-for-all-thais