DE Minister Orders Highest Cyber Defense Level Nationwide
Digital Economy and Society Minister Nant Buonthida Samchai ordered telecom operators to elevate cyber defenses to the highest level amid concerns over nationwide attacks on Thai servers. She confirmed Thailand's infrastructure remains resilient but urged all government and private agencies to immediately audit their firewalls for hidden malware, with updated readiness reports due within the week.
On November 10, 2026, Digital Economy and Society Minister Nant Buonthida Samchai addressed reports of attacks on Thai servers over the previous 24 hours. She noted that the National Cyber Security Committee (NCSC) holds the official statistics, but emphasized that cyber attacks occur continuously and relevant agencies monitor them around the clock. Over the past two to three weeks, discussions with the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) and NCSC have focused on operators and communications infrastructure.
Regarding communications, the minister said preparations must be at the highest disaster level. While the NCSC secretary-general has four readiness tiers, the communications side must go straight to the maximum because operators are legally required to prepare for the worst-case scenarios, particularly nationwide disasters rather than localized ones. She added that within this week operators would report their preparedness, which falls under the DE Ministry's oversight of communication routes.
On the firewall issue, Minister Nant stressed that every government and private agency must inspect and verify its own firewall defenses. While the ministry oversees the communication highways, it cannot inspect the actual data payloads — whether they are normal traffic or conceal malware or spyware — so each system owner must conduct rigorous checks.
Asked whether Thailand's systems can still cope with cyber threats, the minister confirmed they can, citing swift action and ongoing inter-agency coordination to prepare for threats while monitoring international alerts. When pressed on public confidence, she said each agency must secure its own perimeter, and any anomalies detected should be reported to the NCSC for investigation, which is already actively monitoring the situation.
