On Friday, a military sergeant and his spouse were taken into custody for the alleged theft of the personal information of 55 million Thai citizens and offering it for sale under the “9Near” hacker alias, as reported by officials.
The high-ranking army officer, whose identity remains undisclosed, obtained the data from the Mor Prom app, and his wife, a nurse with access to the Mor Prom system, was being interrogated by police, according to National Police Chief Pol Gen Damrongsak Kittiprapas.
The Mor Prom app, launched by the Public Health Ministry, initially provided the public with access to vaccination services before evolving into a broader health service portal.
Authorities must develop strategies to guarantee the protection of individuals’ personal information, Pol Gen Damrongsak stated.
He went on to say that there was no evidence to support rumours of the sergeant having close connections with a prominent politician.
The sergeant, originally from Nonthaburi province, was turned over to the police by his superior on Wednesday, as per sources. His wife was employed at a hospital in the Chaeng Watthana district.
The hacker had recently posted on Breach Forums, a platform that enables users to trade leaked personal data from government agencies and private corporations, alleging possession of personal information of 55 million Thai citizens, including names, addresses, birthdates, ID numbers, and phone numbers.
The now-blocked 9near.org website featured a threat from the hacker to publicly disclose all the data unless the affected government agency made contact within a specified timeframe.
Concurrently, some news reporters received text messages revealing their addresses, ID numbers, and phone numbers.
