Cybersecurity bill to be presented to cabinet this month

The cybersecurity bill is expected to be submitted for cabinet consideration by the end of this month, says the Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA).

The bill is being scrutinised by the Council of State and should be ready soon for presentation to the cabinet, as well as a public hearing later before the final proposal to the National Legislative Assembly, said ETDA chief executive Surangkana Wayuparb.

Under the new law, a National Security Agency will be set up, said Mrs Surangkana, who is also secretary of the interim National Security Committee.

She did not indicate whether the new law put any strict controls on social media or gives authority to the government to access individual information without a warrant or court order.

Mrs Surangkana said the main objective of the law is prevention, protection and responding to Critical Information Infrastructure (CII) to strengthen Thailand's cybersecurity capability. Six sectors are protected under the CII are government, defence, telecom, finance, energy and utility.

She said the ETDA will help prepare the establishment of the National Cybersecurity Agency that will oversees two agencies -- the national cybersecurity operation centre and the national data protection agency.

These two agencies will be set up within 6-12 months and operate under the Digital Economy and Society Ministry.

The ETDA will invite security technology firms from US, China, and Israel to establish the Cybersecurity Excellence Centre in Digital Park under the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC).

The agency set aside 200 million baht fund to set up the ETADA Security Academy, aiming to produce 1,000 skilled cybersecurity workers next year.

The ETDA yesterday also established the Asean-Japan Cybersecurity Capacity Building Centre (AJCCBC). The centre received 175 million baht from the Japanese government for a four-year programme to train cybersecurity personnel for the 10 member countries of Asean.

"This will increase Asean cybersecurity workforces in line with the Asean ICT Masterplan 2020, which promotes collaboration among CERTs [Computer Emergency Response Team], data governance, identification and protection of Critical Information Infrastructure," Mrs Surangkana said.

Reiko Kondo, director of the Office of the Director-General for Cybersecurity in Japan, said global cyberthreats on Internet of Things devices increased 2.8 times during 2015-17.