Bangkok Post – Academy set to promote cyber education

The National Cyber ​​Security Agency (NCSA) has launched the Thailand National Cyber ​​Academy, another initiative aimed at promoting cybersecurity knowledge among Thais.

Acting Minister of Digital Economy and Society Prasert Jantararuangtong said the academy would play a key role in developing IT personnel at all age levels, thereby strengthening national cybersecurity.

This launch is part of the second phase of NCSA’s intensive Cybersecurity Capacity Building Program, which offers basic and advanced cybersecurity courses to critical information infrastructure managers in public and private organizations.

The academy is a centre for raising awareness of cybersecurity among the public, including operational and executive leaders of organisations, Mr Prasert said.

“We need to have a well-equipped workforce that is able to deal with increasingly complex cyber threats,” he said.

AVM Amorn Chomchoey, Secretary General of NCSA, said that during the first phase of the capacity building program last year, the agency provided knowledge and courses on its platforms to youth, the working-age population, the elderly and people with disabilities, totaling more than 1 million users and 2 million hours of learning.

In the first phase, the agency partnered with 14 universities to develop cybersecurity courses for students.

The agency also launched a cyberclinic program in which more than 4,000 people participated.

In a related area, the Thailand Cyber ​​Wellbeing Index 2024, recently conducted by Advanced Info Service, found that more than half of respondents lacked knowledge and understanding of cybersecurity and safety, particularly in areas that pose a risk to them personally as well as their organizations.

Some 50,965 people took part in the survey across the country.

Many Thais are unaware of the dangers of ransomware attacks, using public Wi-Fi networks for financial transactions and setting easily guessable passwords, such as the user’s date of birth, the survey found.