Cyber Incident Victim: Ministry of Tourism and Sports
Date:
Dec 2016
Location:
Thailand
Summary
Anonymous hackers targeted Thai government websites in opposition to proposed internet control legislation, including a single gateway initiative and subsequent amendments to cybercrime laws. The attacks involved manual DDoS campaigns and breaches against multiple agencies, such as the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, causing disruptions. Following the government's withdrawal of the single gateway proposal but passage of broader surveillance amendments, authorities arrested nine teenagers linked to the hacktivist operations. Officials dismissed public opposition, including a petition with over 400,000 signatures, while emphasizing stricter penalties for cybercrimes under the revised laws.
| CIA Posture | Motives | Tactics, Techniques & Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| Available to members | 1 motive | 1 technique |
| Threat Actor | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1 actor | Available to members | Available to members |
Description
The #OpSingleGateway hacktivism campaign emerged in October 2015 as a response to Thailand's proposed legislation mandating a single internet gateway, which critics compared to China's Great Firewall. Anonymous Thailand organized manual distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against the Thai government's primary website (thaigov.go.th) and the Ministry of Information, Communications and Technology (ICT) by instructing citizens via social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook to repeatedly refresh targeted pages. This "F5 attack" methodology successfully overwhelmed both websites. As legislative efforts to implement the single gateway continued, Anonymous escalated tactics by breaching websites of Thai police agencies and local internet service providers. The sustained cyber campaign contributed to the government abandoning the single gateway proposal.
In May 2016, the Thai government introduced amendments to the Computer Crime Act that expanded surveillance powers, prompting renewed Anonymous opposition through the "Citizens Against Single Gateway" Facebook group. Hacktivists executed additional manual DDoS attacks, compromising the Defense Ministry website on December 19 and breaching the Thai Police Office site on December 17. The Ministry of Tourism and Sports website became a target on December 23. Authorities responded by arresting at least nine individuals aged 17-20 who participated in these operations, with the Deputy Prime Minister announcing further arrests would follow. Over 400,000 citizens signed an online petition opposing the amendments, which officials dismissed. The revised Computer Crime Act passed on December 16 introduced broader censorship authority while increasing penalties for cybercrime offenses.