Activists issue ultimatum to Thai govt over 'Single Gateway'

[webfact]

Activists Issue Ultimatum to Junta over ‘Single Gateway’
By Teeranai Charuvastra


A workstation inside the army's cyber unit on 9 Sept. Photo: WeLoveRTA.org

BANGKOK — Online activists have given the military government eight days to cancel its plan to route all internet traffic through a single point of control – or else see an escalation of their cyberattacks.

After calling Friday for the plan to be abandoned by 14 Oct., the activists united online as “Citizens Against Single Gateway: Thailand Internet Firewall” repeated their ultimatum yesterday, promising to cripple government websites should the government not cancel four Cabinet Resolutions authorizing the project.

“The government still has not changed its stance at all, which only means one thing: The government is still pushing ahead with the implementation of single gateway, in accordance with the existing Cabinet Resolutions (which are legally-binding),” the statement read. “Therefore, Citizens Against Single Gateway is forced to issue a louder voice of warning to the government once again.”

The group listed eight government websites, including the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, and encouraged its supporters to bring the sites down in a massive click-and-refresh attack - a rudimentary cyberattack known as distributed denial of service, or DDOS.

Meanwhile military officials have flat-out denied they have initiated the project, insisting the plan is still “under study.” Steps appear to have been taken to make that retroactively true -- one of the first of four Cabinet Resolutions authorizing the project has been removed from the cabinet’s website.

Virtual Escalation

Although the activists managed to bring down six government agencies’ websites on 30 Sept., they failed last night to repeat the same feat. The Citizens Against Single Gateway later posted to Facebook a statement saying the government has rerouted its servers to other countries.

Full story: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/detail.php?newsid=1444112718


-- Khaosod English 2015-10-06

[dageurreotype]

More resistance in other areas would also be welcome, given the never ending story that is the CDC.

[Hawk]

When there is no internet sevice at all, then the government may listen.

[ddavidovsky]

I suspect something is already in place. A couple of weeks ago my internet went dead and I had to reset my router settings in order to get back online - that usually only happens when True has fiddled about with something at their end, only this time there was no notice of any change or upgrade. My internet has definitely been disrupted since then. Ordinary websites often won't load. Switching on a VPN will get them to load instantly, presumably implying a gateway issue. Unfortunately, the VPN only works briefly, then webpages stall again and this time I have to switch off the VPN to get them to load for a while.. and so it goes on. It's not a problem with my computer because I was in Singapore last week and all webpages loaded without problem.

Perhaps they have earmarked some people as guinea pigs for testing the new gateway...

[manhood]

Thanks to these activists: the Thais have to stand up for their rights if they are mistreated by the government!

[Eric Loh]

Growing number of educated middle income Bangkok citizens getting annoyed with the junta. Their support base is fast dwindling. Bad news for Suthep and the Dem Party.

[chainarong]

I suspect something is already in place. A couple of weeks ago my internet went dead and I had to reset my router settings in order to get back online - that usually only happens when True has fiddled about with something at their end, only this time there was no notice of any change or upgrade. My internet has definitely been disrupted since then. Ordinary websites often won't load. Switching on a VPN will get them to load instantly, presumably implying a gateway issue. Unfortunately, the VPN only works briefly, then webpages stall again and this time I have to switch off the VPN to get them to load for a while.. and so it goes on. It's not a problem with my computer because I was in Singapore last week and all webpages loaded without problem.

Perhaps they have earmarked some people as guinea pigs for testing the new gateway...

I personally wouldn't trust the internet in Thailand to buy a cat, another mate has lots of problems, yet you can get any Thai site you want outside of Thailand, in the wet the net plays up something shocking, so maybe ???

[lovelomsak]

I am probably one of the few people here that is computer illiterate. Being that I wonder what can the activists really do that will make their point. I am concerned it will be more of a case of " cutting off the nose to spite the face" I for one donot like the idea that is proposed by the government at all.. But because of my ignorance do not know what activists can actually accomplish.. Will not their actions affect their internet use negatively even more.

Edited October 6, 2015 by lovelomsak

[metisdead]

A troll post containing a North Korea comparison has been removed.

[Moruya]

I suspect something is already in place. A couple of weeks ago my internet went dead and I had to reset my router settings in order to get back online - that usually only happens when True has fiddled about with something at their end, only this time there was no notice of any change or upgrade. My internet has definitely been disrupted since then. Ordinary websites often won't load. Switching on a VPN will get them to load instantly, presumably implying a gateway issue. Unfortunately, the VPN only works briefly, then webpages stall again and this time I have to switch off the VPN to get them to load for a while.. and so it goes on. It's not a problem with my computer because I was in Singapore last week and all webpages loaded without problem.

Perhaps they have earmarked some people as guinea pigs for testing the new gateway...

I'm pretty sure you're right.

I should have been monitoring the routes and checking out new hops (not the brewing ones)

[Orac]

I am probably one of the few people here that is computer illiterate. Being that I wonder what can the activists really do that will make their point. I am concerned it will be more of a case of " cutting off the nose to spite the face" I for one donot like the idea that is proposed by the government at all.. But because of my ignorance do not know what activists can actually accomplish.. Will not their actions affect their internet use negatively even more.

I think it is more symbolic than anything else. To a military junta that is obsessed with controlling people and information to not be able to control your own websites is a huge loss of face.

[HerbalEd]

I suspect something is already in place. A couple of weeks ago my internet went dead and I had to reset my router settings in order to get back online - that usually only happens when True has fiddled about with something at their end, only this time there was no notice of any change or upgrade. My internet has definitely been disrupted since then. Ordinary websites often won't load. Switching on a VPN will get them to load instantly, presumably implying a gateway issue. Unfortunately, the VPN only works briefly, then webpages stall again and this time I have to switch off the VPN to get them to load for a while.. and so it goes on. It's not a problem with my computer because I was in Singapore last week and all webpages loaded without problem.

Perhaps they have earmarked some people as guinea pigs for testing the new gateway...

My internet connection and VPN have been, and are still working great. I'm getting between 25 to 33 Mbps down. Every couple of days or so, it gets very slow, but instead of imagining the worst I simply unplug my router for about five seconds, plug in back in and within 30 seconds I'm back to full speed.

[user82374298374]

I am probably one of the few people here that is computer illiterate.

No - pretty much everyone who posts here is the same, as they can't tell the difference between routine issues with their Internet connectivity and purported governmental nefariousness.

I've posted previously on this topic - and, unlike most ThaiVisa posters, I actually know what I'm talking about. See my previous comments.

[gandalf12]

I am probably one of the few people here that is computer illiterate. Being that I wonder what can the activists really do that will make their point. I am concerned it will be more of a case of " cutting off the nose to spite the face" I for one donot like the idea that is proposed by the government at all.. But because of my ignorance do not know what activists can actually accomplish.. Will not their actions affect their internet use negatively even more.

Like you I see nothing to be really gained. Inconvenience the users definitely but apart from that very little.

[easybullet3]

A troll post containing a North Korea comparison has been removed.

I dont know what the deleted post said... but what is wrong with comparing Thailands strict internet laws with another country (such as north Korea) ?

or was it different to what I have suggested ?

[chickenslegs]

I am probably one of the few people here that is computer illiterate. Being that I wonder what can the activists really do that will make their point. I am concerned it will be more of a case of " cutting off the nose to spite the face" I for one donot like the idea that is proposed by the government at all.. But because of my ignorance do not know what activists can actually accomplish.. Will not their actions affect their internet use negatively even more.

Like you I see nothing to be really gained. Inconvenience the users definitely but apart from that very little.

Maybe people are just exercising their right to protest. They can't do it in the normal ways (risking an "invitation" to attitude adjustment - or worse) so they have found a less risky way.

What can be gained is bringing the issue to the attention of the general population, whereas the government seemed to be hoping that no-one would find out.

[Srikcir]

The “Citizens Against Single Gateway: Thailand Internet Firewall” needn't shutdown the military gateway as a symbol of protest. They can attempt to steal sensitive military and State information and simply reveal it a la WikiLeaks and Snowden style.

They're initial denial of service attack may have also included insertion of malicious code vis a vis phishing, fake web sites and e-mail attachments that could allow backdoor entry into databases and control features. Thailand may enter the digital era in ways it never intended.

[EnglishJohn]

Growing number of educated middle income Bangkok citizens getting annoyed with the junta. Their support base is fast dwindling. Bad news for Suthep and the Dem Party.

.. and what ? - you think they wish they had Pheu-Thai back ?.

Not a chance. Pheu-Thai were poison and the country is better off rid of them. You people don't care at all about what they are protesting about - only that they are opposing the Junta.

What you are seeing is the same type of people who stood up against the amnesty bill taking a stand against the Junta when they get out of line. This kind of thing is exactly what the country needs and if you cared to notice, you will see that the Prayuth is concerned about it. What happened to the 'absolute dictator' using article 44 you all screamed about when he invoked it ?.

This is the kind of pressure needed to push the Junta to get to elections as soon as possible. I just hope they get the reforms right so Thailand does not have another Parliament full of dirty cronies.

But don't for one minute think any decent minded Thai thinks things were better under the last lot.

[EnglishJohn]

The “Citizens Against Single Gateway: Thailand Internet Firewall” needn't shutdown the military gateway as a symbol of protest. They can attempt to steal sensitive military and State information and simply reveal it a la WikiLeaks and Snowden style.

They're initial denial of service attack may have also included insertion of malicious code vis a vis phishing, fake web sites and e-mail attachments that could allow backdoor entry into databases and control features. Thailand may enter the digital era in ways it never intended.

And so spoken by someone who reads about something someone else did and thinks it's easy.

You have no clue what you are talking about do you ?. What amazes me is that you are confident (or do I mean ignorant?) enough about it to make a post like that. Did you just put your buzzwords in a bag, shake it up then write them in the order you picked them out again ?.