Cybersecurity pros lacking in Thailand
IT officials want the number of professionals with certification to go up by five fold in the next four years
By Komsan Tortermvasana
Thailand is facing a big shortage of information security professionals, with fewer than 1,000 Thais working in the cybersecurity field.
Of the total, only 198 Thais have Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) qualifications, a worldwide standard for digital security literacy — 13 times less than South Korea — according to Surangkana Wayuparb, chief executive of the Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA).
To successfully deal with growing cyberthreats, the number of CISSP professionals should be increased to 500 by next year and 1,000 by 2022, said Ms Surangkana.
“Cybersecurity is a primary form of soft infrastructure for digital economy development,” she said.
According to the ETDA report, cyberattacks increased 10 per cent year-on-year in terms of fraud, scams, hacking, system attacks, and malware that is used for cybercrime, terrorism or destruction.
Last year, there were 3,797 cases reported to the ETDA, with the actual numbers likely higher.