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Near-hack and Thailand’s growing perception of data insecurity

Although Thailand’s Personal Data Protection Act has been in effect since May 2020, the current 9Near issue has increased people’s worries about the security of their private online information.

On BreachForums, a dark web hacking forum, a hacker going by the handle “9Near” declared in mid-March that he had access to the personal information of 55 million Thais.

He claimed to have names, citizen ID numbers, birthdates, addresses, and phone numbers while using a symbol that resembled the Move Forward Party’s emblem. 9Near is a Thai moniker that sounds a lot like Move Forward, and its translation is “Kao Klai”.

After his allegation received little attention, the hacker started texting well-known individuals in late March to demonstrate that he genuinely had their personal information. On the website https://9near.org/, he also posted what he claimed to be a sample of Thai people’s personal information that had been compromised.

If they didn’t get in touch with him by April 5, the hacker threatened to leak all the data and identify the agencies in charge. “Decide prudently in the upcoming election. The statement stated, “We are not kidding. There is political motivation behind the blackmail.

Minister of Digital Economy and Society (DES) Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn ultimately called a press conference on March 31 in an effort to calm public worries in response to the threat. Additionally, he warned that authorities will punish those responsible and limit access to websites that published any of the personal data related to the case.

The progression of the controversy

9Near appeared to retract his threat on April 2. In a statement posted to his website, he declared that he was sick of dishonest politics and that he did not wish to harm anyone.

We no longer have a purpose to disclose this material because of how dishonest their agenda is, he wrote in his essay. The hacker said he was not a con artist and had never given out anyone’s personal information.

9Near asserted that his sponsor was abusing the leak to gain political advantage, which was a notion with which he disagreed. Additionally, he presented himself as a hacktivist who wanted to better society.

The DES Ministry asserted the following day that 9Near was made up of Thai nationals who intended to disclose personal information in order to expose weaknesses in Thailand’s digital security system.

Despite the names being similar, the Move Forward Party said it was not connected to the incident and urged the authorities to promptly identify the offenders.

Sgt-Major Second Class Khemarat Boonchuay was finally taken into custody by Cyberpolice on charges of being 9Near. Since April 3, the soldier has not shown for work at the Army Transport Department. He was relieved of his duties five days later. On April 12, Khemarat turned himself up. His wife, a nurse, was also detained by police and questioned. He was paraded before a news conference, where he vehemently denied hacking any system and asserted that he had purchased the personal information of 8 million Thais from BreachForums for a paltry 8,000 baht.

A probe is still being conducted. If found guilty of breaking the Computer Crime Act or disseminating false material online, Khemarat could spend up to five years in prison. If he is found guilty of misusing personal information, he might face up to a year in prison and/or a maximum fine of one million baht for each party who was harmed. In other words, if he misused a sizable group of people’s personal information, the total prison time may be very high.

Important personal data

Name and last name, national ID number, address, and phone number are examples of personal data that can be used to identify a person and even reset their passwords. The Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA) has issued a warning that individuals whose personal data has been compromised run the risk of having their identities or money stolen and might even end up being associated with criminal activity.

If someone believes their personal information has been compromised, they should immediately change their passwords, according to the Bank of Thailand.

6,114 illegal mobile banking transactions were reported last year, resulting in losses totaling 274.39 million baht.

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