Hackers target Thai telecoms agency
Bangkok - Hackers have struck state-run telecommunications agency and published sensitive information, amid uncertainty over the government's plan to establish a single internet gateway for the country.
International hackers group Anonymous gained access to the systems of state-run CAT Telecom Thursday, according to posts on a Twitter account apparently run by the group's members on Friday.
The group has expressed concern that the junta still plans to tighten its control over the internet, despite saying earlier that the plan had been shelved. Critics say establishing a single government-controlled line would allow for easier monitoring of users and content by the authorities.
Thai hackers in September attacked government websites in protest.They published what appeared to be personal account information of customers early Friday, and brought down the CAT website for several hours.The attackers also accessed documents that demonstrate along-standing strategy by the military to establish potential controlover the internet, a news report said.
The TelecomAsia news site said it had received documents dated 2006 showing the army's plan for an information warfare unit, and listing social media to be selected as surveillance targets, including Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Wordpress.
The report did not mention any plan for the single gateway, but said the documents "could suggest the Single Gateway project has been a priority and pushed by the highest levels of the army for years."
Deputy Premier General Prawit Wongsuwon said on October 15 that there was no fixed plan for such a gateway. But CAT Telecom this week announced it was putting the infrastructure in place, rebranding the project from "single gateway" to "national gateway." It would turn Thailand into a digital hub, it said.
The military junta has been criticised by local and international organisations for restrictions on freedom of expression and of the press, and on public criticism of its government. On September 30, simultaneous denial-of-service attacks were launched on several government websites by thousands of users protesting against the planned central gateway, and an online petition against it gathered 100,000 names.
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