Boosting measures against cyber crime, Thailand’s Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT) to strategise and promote research on IT and cyber security.

The two agencies aim at the joint development of a strategic plan for national cyber security (2013-2017).

The Minister for ICT, Anudith Nakornthap, said, “Cyber crime could be found everywhere, and is a major threat to the nation’s security, society, and economy, and organizations as well as individuals”.

The Electronics Transactions Development Agency (ETDA) reported that during the period August 2011-July 2012, 53 per cent of online crime was in relation to fraud, while 14 and 11 per cent related to intrusion attempts and information gathering, respectively.

The Minister said, “The strategy includes collaboration between the public and private sector on awareness and regulation, research and development and international cooperation on cyber security”.

Professor Suthiporn Chittmittrapap of NCRT, revealed, “The agencies are also collaborating on creating a research data warehouse on technology and cyber security. The MoU is an important starting point for development and integration of IT in the country”.