Tuesday, 16 April 2024
Cybersecurity team to assist banks in Thailand
The Thai Bankers' Association plans to form a Thai Bank Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) to share information regarding cybersecurity threats among members.
Microsoft (Thailand) will supply its cybersecurity intelligence information and blockchain technology to the banking sector.
"Quick adoption of digital and mobile banking services in Thailand including PromptPay have boosted collaboration in the banking sector on cybersecurity," said Kobsak Duangdee, secretary-general of the association, which comprises 14 commercial banks.
Scheduled to launch this year, Thai Bank CERT will function as the centre receiving security alerts and launching incident responses for its members. A common infrastructure will be shared among the association's members to save costs and increase efficiency, including a training centre and cybersecurity soft skills for bank employees.
He said the association plans to implement e-KYC (electronic Know Your Customer) measures for identity authorisation and verification of customers. The move came after the Bank of Thailand introduced a new regulation to facilitate the KYC process electronically for opening a deposit account or buying a fund.
The central bank said it will cooperate with government entities to enable data connection to the civil registration process and interconnections among financial institutions and e-payment service providers. The authorities will together stipulate e-KYC policies including legal and IT infrastructure to enable electronic transactions and services.
"In our view, e-KYC is crucial for Thailand to move into the digital economy era," said Mr Kobsak.
A central bank report in December 2016 showed Thailand had 15 million internet bank accounts worth 2.4 billion baht, and 20 million mobile banking accounts worth 584 billion baht. Mr Kobsak said the association in collaboration with Microsoft (Thailand) recently donated 550 used computers from five commercial banks to the Thai Red Cross Society of Thailand.
People with disabilities working for the Red Cross can use the computers to perform administrative functions nationwide. The donation is part of the association's effort to support the 902 people with disabilities working for the agency. Dhanawat Suthumpun, managing director of Microsoft (Thailand), said this is first time it has donated its Windows 10 system to the Thai Red Cross Society.
"Comprising Windows 10, Office 365 and Office 2016, the software donation project worth 27 million baht is part of Microsoft's corporate responsibility programme to enhance the skills of people with disabilities," said Mr Dhanawat.
Microsoft will also support Thai Bank CERT by offering its Digital Crime Unit. The company works with the Electronic Transactions Development Agency to share and update information on the latest cybersecurity threats.
"Blockchain is another technology that will strengthen cybersecurity," said Mr Dhanawat.
Re-disseminated by The Asian Banker from Bangkokpost.com
