Thai junta steps up website security after attacks

The Thai junta has stepped up website and data security after Thai cyber-activists -- aided by the international hacking collective Anonymous -- attacked the government's information technology infrastructure overnight.

 Uttama Savanayana, the information and communications minister, said that the junta leader-cum-prime minister, General Prayuth Chan-ocha, had told him himself to assure uninterrupted services on government systems.

"Rest assured that we can look after people’s information," he tweeted Friday. "Our systems are modern. In any case, you should consider online information carefully because it is not always true."

Earlier on Friday, Thai cyber-activists tweeted copies of data related to hundreds of customers of CAT Telecom -- the Thai government communication agency in charge of implementing a controversial Single Gateway project.

"CAT Telecom compromised exposing 1000s of login, passwords, Thai IDs, and more," said a message on the account of Thailand F5 cyber Army -- the moniker of cyber-activists opposed to what they call "The Great Firewall".

The activists thus declared "victory" in their war against the junta's plan to control online content.

According to the Bangkok Post, the CAT Telecom website was down for several hours late Thursday.

Another result of the hack was the leaking of documents, apparently from CAT Telecom files, related to the single gateway project.

"Telecom Asia has received a set of leaked documents that would suggest the Single Gateway project has been a priority and pushed by the highest levels of the army for years," wrote Information Technology journalist Don Sambandaraksa on the Telecom Asia news site.

Some documents attested that the project goes back as far as 2006, according to Sambandaraksa.

"One slide listed target media that need to be put under surveillance -- Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Wordpress, Blogger, Flickr, Instagram and Tumblr," he wrote.

In another attack, activists disrupted the Thai military's finance department.

"The Citizens against Single Gateway claimed our victory in the first stage after our cyber-war declaration," Thailand F5 cyber Army claimed in an online statement. 

"We made the financial accounting system of the finance department of the Royal Thai armed forces unable to work for more than three hours," it said.

The gateway came to the public's attention at the end of September when a Cabinet meeting document emerged online urging administrators to set up a system that could be used as a device to control inappropriate websites along with the flow of news and information from overseas.

Following a June 30 Cabinet meeting, instructions were repeatedly delivered in July and August by the Cabinet to the Information and Communications Technology Ministry to push for the realization of the project.

As the plan grew, the public reacted with dismay and tens of thousands of comments criticizing the proposal were posted online. 

Shadowy cyber-activists also caused at least six government websites to crash Sept. 30.

Taken aback by the strong reaction, the government sought to deny that the project had entered the implementation stage, saying that it was just an idea floated during a Cabinet meeting.

But Chan-ocha surprised many last Wednesday when he affirmed that the plan was still on.

"You say we should not have the single gateway, but can you prevent your group from writing things that defame the nation and government?" he told local reporters. 

"If you cannot, then don’t tell me what method should be used."

After Wednesday's apparent reversal, the Thailand F5 cyber Army announced the war on government websites.

The gateway is one of a number of factors that appeared to suggest a strengthening of government control over the Internet.

On Thursday, Defense Minister Gen. Prawit Wongsuwan announced the creation of a new Army Cyber Center with the aim of protecting the monarchy and "keeping track of information on media and social media, to sort them out systematically".