Junta wants access to encrypted computer data
The discussion about the single gateway has flared up again. The junta in Thailand apparently wants to know at all costs what is happening on the internet in order to control its citizens. For example, the Minister of ICT can force internet providers to provide access to encrypted computer data if an amendment to the Computer Crime Act comes into effect.
The Thai Netizen Network warns about this. The network has obtained a document in which the Ministry of ICT explains the reasons for the amendment. This shows that the Thai government can force providers to provide access to computer communications secured with the SSL protocol.
Secure Socket Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS) is the most widely used security protocol on the Internet. It is basically a protocol that provides a secure connection between two computers communicating over the Internet or an internal network. On the Internet, the SSL protocol is commonly used when a web browser needs to connect securely to a web server.
Arthit Suriyawongkul, co-founder of the Foundation for Internet and Civic Culture and coordinator of the network, says the decryption of SSL data is reminiscent of the proposal for a single gateway to international internet traffic that caused a stir last year.
Bron: Bangkok Post – www.bangkokpost.com/single-gateway-all-over-again
Another discussion that flares up about a loaded topic. In this case, again the right to share criminal information via the internet and to keep it secret, or to share it only with persons who are personally important to the criminal and, on the other hand, the public interest that must be served in the context of investigations crime in the broadest sense of the word. The military regime and other investigative agencies are of course interested in real threats and there are plenty of them, which can also be found on the internet. So there is a lot of information to get there, I know from experience as a former police chief and after years of research. In the Netherlands, legislation and often permission from the judiciary or judiciary are required to be able to query and use data in criminal cases. Perhaps this will also be the case in Thailand, although Thai law is still relatively unknown to me. I do see that in Thailand little attention is paid to legislation by the citizens and certainly in the field of traffic, but we all see that every day.
A criminal does not have to follow rules, as we all know and he does what he or she wants. This does not make detection any easier. Specific inquiries, also via the Internet, are badly needed, such as providing evidence, in order to be able to arrest and punish criminals. There is only a small group of experts or specialists who are involved in this in Thailand, I imagine and the information that is requested will certainly not be about Jan and Alleman. We, the average citizens, are really not interesting enough for this.
So raising exaggerated concern through the media, I am not in favor of this.
Clear legislation has been made in the Netherlands, which states what is and what is not allowed and what can be searched and how this should be stored and who is authorized to inspect and use it, etc. In my view, also in view of the many books that I had to see for it, pretty crazy.
I assume that there are also rules in Thailand in order to be able and allowed to do this, we no longer live in the Middle Ages here, there is jurisprudence, on which the opinion will again be divided.
Given the active threats that exist all over the world, who is not aware of them by now, it is important that information is and remains available for investigative authorities, including from the internet.
As far as I'm concerned, the light can turn green, under certain conditions. With so many insane people in this world, this again contributes to safety. The motto: Vigilat ut quiescant (he watches that they rest) is also appropriate here.
Dear Jacques,
You're an ex-police chief, you say, and I don't understand why you're taking this so lightly. In the Netherlands, the police can only access private data (letter, telephone, internet) if there is a clearly defined reason for this and if the court gives permission for this. This is also the case in Thailand.
What is proposed here is that the government should be given unlimited and uncontrolled (by a court of law) powers to check private data. If you think this is for the purpose of investigating criminal cases, then you are mistaken. The police already has that power.
Everything indicates that the new powers will be used for political purposes, eavesdropping and monitoring people who are seen as political opponents. As if Rutte has been given permission to eavesdrop on Pechtold's internet traffic.
I also have a saying for you from Benjamin Franklin 'Those who give up essential freedoms to gain some temporary security and stability deserve neither freedom nor stability'.
This is what the Bangkok Post writes in an Editorial about this case today:
But the much greater danger is that the state, and corrupt state agencies, will misuse and abuse their authority for wider and far more sinister purposes beyond even outright theft and blackmail. The reality of this potential threat is horrendous. It continues the debasement of the desired and so-far actual image of Thailand.
.
Thank you for this addition to Tino's written piece, I did not read this and hence my opinion about retrieving data in general. Apparently it goes a step further here if I have to believe you or the writer of this article. Improper use, or say abuse of requesting data, must always be out of the question and that is why I already stated, green light under conditions. I understand your concern based on your explanation. So we do not differ in this.
That a certain possibility of control is sometimes necessary in a democratic country, so it is. Thailand is not a democratic country, on the contrary: every slightly deviating opinion is punished under some draconian law.
When I read the article above I immediately think strange story given that an SSL connection cannot be cracked. An SSL connection is secured between 2 parties and is intended not to let anyone between the sender and recipient know what it is about.
After reading the Bangkok post, the scope of the story is also completely different. Thailand wants to be able to block certain URLs to suppress certain content. But because more and more websites can only be visited with SSL, read this is currently being done precisely because the governments, etc. are reading along and we do not want this to happen.
Thailand notices that it is losing grip as a result and is asking for a solution. The answer to this is simple, there is no solution to it. Not even the FBI can read encrypted messages or websites. They can only read along with the sender or receiver.
Not only Thailand has this problem, but China is also running into this very hard. They can only stop it by totally blocking all SSL and VPN traffic. Believe me this will never happen is the same as the internet no longer exists in Thailand. Back to the year 1970 and good luck!