members of the public.
The Telecommunications Association of Thailand (TCT) launched a centre to coordinate efforts to combat cyber threats in the telecom industry and to serve as a venue for information-sharing about the issue on 14 December 2020.
The centre is called TTC-CERT, or Thailand Telecom Computer Emergency Response Team. Around THB18 million will be budgeted by the Broadcasting and Telecommunications Research and Development Fund to the centre over the next three years.
The TCT plans to build a centralised data-sharing platform next August, which will serve as the main channel for its members to notify and get updates on cyberthreats as well as exchange related information with members of the public.
The President of TCT stated that TTC-CERT will also gather information about cyber threats from other organisations, including the Thailand Banking Sector Computer Emergency Response Team (TB-CERT) and Thai Capital Market CERT (TCM-CERT).
This will foster collaboration in all core sectors, which play a crucial part in the country’s digital economy.
TTC-CERT will also connect with the Thailand Computer Emergency Response Team (ThaiCert), which is operated by the Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA).
The establishment of the TTC-CERT follows a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between nine members of TCT for cooperation. The TTC-CERT will work on data exchange, a warning system and training activities, not only for TCT members but also around 1,000 companies in telecom and ICT-related fields.
While big enterprises in the telecom business sector, especially mobile operators, have strong measures and technical support in place in dealing with cyber threats, the threats are increasingly sophisticated. Cyberthreats include D-Dos, malware and ransomware, which could wreak havoc on digital platforms as well as telecom infrastructure.
The telecom is not just a business sector, but a fundamental infrastructure or foundation of communication for every sector, he said.
The Director of TTC-CERT stated that the centre has two staff responsible for routine work and coordination with members. They must work to ensure optimum benefits for all members and keep information secure, he said. TTC-CERT has to build trust among members.
Thailand government is proactive on cybersecurity
A recent report noted that the rise of cyberthreats is setting off alarm bells among state and local governments, forcing them to pay attention to the problem and invest in cybersecurity measures, the Thailand unit of the US cybersecurity firm said.
The Senior Manager for systems engineering at the local unit that state and local governments are seen moving towards investment in cybersecurity measures due to the rise of attacks and they are among attackers’ top targets.
According to the “2020 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report”, ransomware is the most common cyber threat for the public administration sector in the US, with 61% of ransomware attacks being malware cases.
In Thailand, a public hospital was hit by hackers in September in a data ransom situation.
The increasing use of multi-cloud, Internet of Things (IoT) and Software as a Service (SaaS) also bring further exposure to security threats. Government agencies must work to comply with the Cybersecurity Act to ensure cyber protections in connection with security operation centres, access control as well as email and application security
