According to data provided by the Thai Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (DES), two-thirds of the 500 cyber assaults on government websites in 2017 were carried out by hackers who were advertising online gambling businesses.
Gambling sites, according to DES Minister Chaiwut Thanakhamanusorn, implant their codes and scripts into public sector websites in an effort to increase visits and visitors. Twenty government and commercial sector organizations’ online presences have been compromised; educational and government health organizations were primary targets.
The National Cyber Security Administration (NCSA) has provided the Cabinet with recommendations for both immediate and long-term prevention of this problem. The NCSA has also informed all ISPs about cyberattacks, giving them the opportunity to shut down any malicious domains or user accounts.
Police Cyber Taskforce (PCT) has been busy filing charges against cybercriminal organizations that target private sector websites in order to facilitate illegal online gambling, while also urging website administrators to review their sites’ security measures and take swift action against any breaches discovered.
Hacking government websites is a felony, and people should not be fooled by advertisements for online gambling that appear on those sites, as the government has made clear. In addition, the DES minister urged people to report any suspicious activity to the police and to avoid visiting strange Websites in emails or messages.
