Digital Transformation/NCSA and Google Cloud

Editorial staff

The National Cyber Security Agency (NCSA) and Google Cloud today announced a strategic collaboration to bolster the cyber resilience of Thailand's digital landscape.

The collaboration will leverage AI and intelligence-driven cyber defense, enabling public sector entities and citizens to continue realizing the benefits of digital transformation while protecting them against cybercrime and malicious cyberattacks.

The NCSA and Google Cloud collaboration complements ongoing efforts by the Thai government and Google to enhance online safety for mobile users in Thailand.

Google also announced today that its anti-scam feature within Google Play Protect, launched in partnership with the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (MDES) in 2024, has blocked more than 6.6 million high-risk app installation attempts to date. In addition, Google has unveiled enhanced mobile security measures to further protect Thais against social engineering tactics employed by cybercriminals.

Deputy Prime Minister and Digital Economy and Society Minister Prasert Jantararuangtong said strengthening cybersecurity and combating online scams are paramount and urgent priorities for the government, especially as organizations and individuals increasingly embrace digital innovation.

“We commend Google for its proactive and continuous efforts in collaborating with us to safeguard citizens online through its cyber literacy programs and implementation of enhanced anti-scam features in Google Play Protect on Android devices. We’re delighted to be deepening our partnership with Google. This collaboration will involve NCSA joining forces with Google Cloud, leveraging its industry-leading security operations expertise to develop cutting-edge, national-level solutions that eASnhance our country’s cyber resilience.”

Amorn Chomchoey, secretary general to the National Cyber Security Agency (Thailand), said robust cyber defense requires a combination of skilled talent and the right technology, the agency has been providing training programs and toolkits to help state entities and enterprises improve their cybersecurity posture.

“Building on these initiatives, our partnership with Google Cloud will be a significant force multiplier. Best-in-class capabilities like Google Cloud Cybershield will augment our existing solutions while Mandiant will serve as an extension of our expert teams. Collectively, this will reinforce our capacity to stay ahead of future cyber threats and maintain a safe digital space for all Thais.”

NCSA plans to deploy Google Cloud Cybershield, which combines automation, analytics, threat intelligence, and AI, for centralized monitoring of security events across public sector entities. This will enable the Thailand Computer Emergency Response Team (ThaiCERT), NCSA’s national cyber defense center, to undertake a more coordinated and streamlined response to potential cyber threats targeting government agencies and critical national infrastructure.

The collaboration will also cover: threat intelligence: Google Cloud and NCSA will engage in threat intelligence sharing to support government-wide cyber defense operations. This includes NCSA being provided with access to Google Threat Intelligence, which includes Mandiant’s frontline threat intelligence and VirusTotal’s threat database.

Incident response expertise: Mandiant consultants will provide specialized hands-on training in areas like incident response, digital forensics, and malware analysis to qualified information security professionals from public sector entities selected by NCSA.

Beyond national cyber defense, the collaboration will further enhance online safety for individual users. NCSA and Google Cloud plan to integrate Google Cloud Web Risk into government workflows to protect Thai citizens and residents from online scam and phishing websites.

Web Risk APIs will provide the government with real-time threat intelligence on sites that host malware or other types of unsafe web resources. This information will be used to augment NCSA’s existing capabilities, enabling its teams to evaluate a higher volume of websites, proactively block user access to dangerous URLs, warn users about unsafe links, and prevent the spread of harmful content.

Web Risk utilizes the same advanced AI models that power Google Safe Browsing. These models evaluate more than 10 billion URLs and files daily to identify those that violate Safe Browsing policies, adding them to a threat intelligence repository and blocklist that protects more than five billion devices within minutes.

Annop Siritikul, country director, Thailand, Google Cloud, said Thailand’s digital economy is set to grow from US$46 billion in 2024 to at least US$100 billion by 2030. At Google Cloud, the company believes to contribute meaningfully toward the collective cyber defense that’s required to safeguard this future growth.