More than half of Thai respondents in a survey were found to lack knowledge and understanding of cybersecurity and safety, especially in areas that pose a risk to them personally as well as in their organisations.
According to the Thailand Cyber Wellness Index 2024, which was contributed to by Advanced Info Service (AIS), many Thais are unaware of the dangers of ransomware attacks, using public Wi-Fi for financial transactions, and setting easily guessable passwords such as the use of a date of birth.
On Monday AIS also launched the Digital Health Check, the country's first-ever personalised cyber-immunity assessment tool, as part of AIS's continuous drive to foster digital literacy and understanding among Thais, according to Saichon Submakudom, head of public relations and business relations at AIS.
The tool allows individuals to assess their ability to cope with cyberthreats and gain knowledge through the Aunjai Cyber syllabus to improve their digital skills.
The tool provides personalised learning recommendations to help individuals strengthen their skills and knowledge in the field of cybersecurity, she added.
Additionally, AIS introduced cybersecurity tools through the AIS Secure Net service, which now offers more comprehensive protection and enhanced efficiency in filtering harmful websites, both domestically and internationally. This ensures that AIS customers can use the internet with peace of mind, feeling secure and worry-free, she added.
AIS customers can use the AIS Secure Net service for free for a period of 12 months.
Ms Saichon said AIS, under the sustainable development flagship project dubbed AIS Aunjai CYBER, unveiled the Thailand Cyber Wellness Index 2024 for a second consecutive year.
The initiative reinforces AIS's dedication to its mission by passing the study's findings to relevant agencies through collaboration with various sectors. These findings can be used to develop targeted digital literacy programmes that address specific issues faced by Thais. Some 50,965 respondents nationwide participated in the survey.
The study highlighted the need for continuous development in digital skills to better equip Thais to deal with various cyberthreats.
This led government and private agencies to use the findings to enhance digital literacy programmes tailored to specific age groups, professions, and even geographic regions, aligning with the target audiences of each agency.
The study focuses on three levels of cyberliteracy and understanding, including basic and advanced levels.
The study found 46% of total respondents were at the basic level, 35.5% at the advanced level, and 18.5% needed to improve.
Through seven digital health skills in the index, the survey found that six skills of the respondents were better than in the previous survey, excluding cyberbullying that recorded a score of 0.87 on average from a maximum score of 1.0.
The cybersecurity skills of Thais stood at 0.61 on average from a maximum score of 1.0, digital use at 0.66, digital relationship visualisation at 0.67, communications on digital at 0.70, digital literacy at 0.73, and digital rights understanding at 0.77.
According to the report from Technology Crime Investigation Division 1, between March 2022 and July 2024, total damages caused by cybercrime was 69.1 billion baht, or 78 million baht per day. Only 10.7% of the total damage, or 7.4 billion baht, could be frozen in time.
More importantly, Thailand was ranked the sixth country with most financial threats, following India, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, USA, and Australia.
Ms Saichon added that the 2024 study results indicate that although Thais have improved their understanding of digital usage, bringing overall digital literacy to a basic level, there are still concerning gaps.
More than half of Thais still lack knowledge and understanding of cybersecurity and safety, especially in areas that pose risks to themselves and their organisations.