Thailand Studies Cyber Defences To Protect Food Exporters

By Kenny Teng

BANGKOK, Nov 3 (Bernama) -- Thailand is studying measures to strengthen its defences against emerging cybersecurity threats targeting food storage systems, with a focus on protecting the country’s food exporters and businesses.

Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said he had instructed the Commerce Ministry to investigate reports of cyberattacks on food refrigeration systems overseas and assess their potential implications for Thailand.

Anutin, who is also Interior Minister, said the incidents, involving the alleged hacking of food storage systems to manipulate temperatures and cause food to spoil, represented a new form of cyber threat that required closer attention.

“Agencies under the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society must ensure that hacking and the misuse of cyber technology do not disrupt the operations of our agencies,” he told reporters after chairing the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

He added that the matter had been raised at the Cabinet meeting earlier today, with relevant government agencies tasked with monitoring and addressing potential risks.

Anutin said the Royal Thai Police and the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) were monitoring the situation, while stressing the need for Thailand to keep studying the emerging threat.

On Monday, it was reported that cybercriminals had again targeted refrigeration systems in European supermarkets, causing fridges and freezers to warm up.

However, Anutin said Thailand, as a major food-exporting country, must also consider safeguards in export transactions, including carefully drafted credit terms and payment conditions, as well as whether insurance coverage was necessary to protect producers and traders.

He warned that exporters should not be left exposed to losses if overseas buyers used alleged refrigeration system failures, or claims that products had spoiled or failed to meet standards, as grounds for withholding payment.

“We must also protect the interests of sellers. We cannot allow goods to arrive at their destination only for buyers to claim that the products have spoiled or failed to meet standards and then refuse to make payment,” he said.

Anutin expressed confidence that Thai agencies had the capability to establish appropriate safeguards and protect local businesses against such technological threats.

-- BERNAMA