Thai officials detain nine for hacking against junta
some hackers claim to have breached government databases and made off with sensitive material.
Rumours had swirled for days that the military had made some arrests. But official confirmation only came on Monday.
“We have arrested some hackers, there were about nine people and we will continue arresting them,” deputy prime minister PrawitWongsuwan, the junta’s number two, told reporters.
Since the generals seized power in 2014 national security offences are primarily handled by the military, with confirmation of detentions often only coming days after someone disappears.
On Monday police in Bangkok paraded a 19-year-old hacking suspect who had been handed to them by the military after undergoing interrogation for an unspecified number of days.
“The suspect confessed that he faked an identity and accessed the system [of ] the royal police office,” Supaset Chokchai, commander of the national police’s computer crimes unit, told reporters.
Rights groups and cyber activists have vowed to challenge the new law in the courts.
Thailand already has a string of laws that opponents say curbs debate, including a draconian lese majeste offence outlawing criticism of the monarchy and sweeping legislation on criminal defamation.
The new cyber law is itself an update of the 2007 Computer Crimes Act which was initially drawn up to target criminals using the web for scams, but later morphed into a tool to pursue critics.
Many of those charged with royal defamation in recent years have found themselves simultaneously hit with computer crime charges.
Thailand’s junta have largely curbed public dissent by banning political gatherings and arresting those who demonstrate.
As a result the internet remains one of the few areas where discussion can take place but often at great risk.
Royal defamation, sedition and computer crime cases have skyrocketed under military rule, often for comments made on social media.
Critics say the new cyber law will also do little to further the junta’s stated aim of turning the kingdom into a regional digital hub.