Bangkok (VNA) – Thai police areinvesting a hacker who threatened to release data stolen in an allegedsecurity breach affecting 55 million Thais, according to Thailand’s DigitalEconomy and Society (DES) Minister Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn.
The official was quoted by local media assaying that significant progress is being made in the probe into the incident, in which the person named “9Near” posted on BreachForum that he had personaldata of 55 million Thais, including names, surnames, addresses, birthdates, IDcard numbers and telephone numbers.
The hacker threatened to expose theinformation if the government agency allegedly involved in the data breachfailed to meet a ransom demand by April 5. The Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau(CCIB) is investigating if the personal data was stolen or leaked by certainofficials.
He said that the police have narrowed downthe potential suspects and the case will be concluded soon. However, the DESministry declined to say which government agency is involved in the data theftuntil the perpetrator is arrested and charged.
He said security vulnerabilities couldoccur when state agencies that provide public services want to make it easy forpeople to get their services, adding people may soon find accessing servicesmore complicated but it is for the sake of data security.
The DES Ministry on April 3 hosted a meetingon data security for government agencies that possess large amounts of dataincluding the Interior Ministry, the Public Health Ministry and the ElectionCommission following the alleged data theft. The meeting aimed to ask stateagencies to assess their security risks and raise awareness about the PersonalData Protection Act (PDPA).
Meanwhile, the Thai Consumer Council (TCC)has stepped up calls for the government to do better to protect people againstdata theft as the incident has caused a widespread scare among consumers./.
The official was quoted by local media assaying that significant progress is being made in the probe into the incident, in which the person named “9Near” posted on BreachForum that he had personaldata of 55 million Thais, including names, surnames, addresses, birthdates, IDcard numbers and telephone numbers.
The hacker threatened to expose theinformation if the government agency allegedly involved in the data breachfailed to meet a ransom demand by April 5. The Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau(CCIB) is investigating if the personal data was stolen or leaked by certainofficials.
He said that the police have narrowed downthe potential suspects and the case will be concluded soon. However, the DESministry declined to say which government agency is involved in the data theftuntil the perpetrator is arrested and charged.
He said security vulnerabilities couldoccur when state agencies that provide public services want to make it easy forpeople to get their services, adding people may soon find accessing servicesmore complicated but it is for the sake of data security.
The DES Ministry on April 3 hosted a meetingon data security for government agencies that possess large amounts of dataincluding the Interior Ministry, the Public Health Ministry and the ElectionCommission following the alleged data theft. The meeting aimed to ask stateagencies to assess their security risks and raise awareness about the PersonalData Protection Act (PDPA).
Meanwhile, the Thai Consumer Council (TCC)has stepped up calls for the government to do better to protect people againstdata theft as the incident has caused a widespread scare among consumers./.
VNA
