Thailand bolsters digital defences

Cybersecurity officials want all state agencies to adopt multi-factor authentication to reduce risks

- KOMSAN TORTERMVASANA

The Digital Economy and Society (DES) Ministry wants to improve government cybersecurity by obliging all state agencies to adopt multi-factor authentication (MFA) when logging in to their systems.

MFA is a multi-step account login process, requiring users to enter more information than just a password to access an account or application.

This process makes it more difficult for unauthorised individuals to gain access to their accounts.

The ministry instructed the National Cyber Security Agency (NCSA) to propose this MFA obligation for cabinet approval.

Why do state agencies have to adopt MFA?

AVM Amorn Chomchoey, secretary-general of NCSA, said many state units operate using account login processes he deems "easy to be hacked", in terms of their access, use of organisations' websites or a service system.

Leaks of state and public agency accounts mean people's data can be leaked, which could have a wide impact, said AVM Amorn.

NCSA needs all state units and public services to adopt more complex ways to access their websites and service systems to reduce possible threats from hacker intrusion, he said.

"A simple password is not enough," said AVM Amorn.

For several hacked websites, the hack was attributed to vulnerabilities related to the use of pirated software.

He said there have been many major cyberthreats to state agencies over the past several months, especially concerning the sale of users' accounts on the dark web by hackers.

The greatest threat is hackers selling system administrators' accounts, which could result in serious damage to the country's key information and communication technology infrastructure, said AVM Amorn.

DES Minister Prasert Jantararuangtong said an NCSA probe found stolen or leaked data includes several million individual email addresses, and the websites and passwords for accessing state agencies' systems.