Singapore – As part of the Safer Songkran initiative, Google Cloud and Thailand’s National Cyber Security Agency have announced a strategic collaboration aimed at strengthening the country’s cyber resilience.
Through the initiative, both parties aim to protect the public sector and citizens from cybercrime and harmful cyber attacks, enabling the continued benefits of digital transformation, with AI and intelligent cyber defence strategies at the core of the partnership.
Said collaboration supports the ongoing initiatives of the Royal Thai Government and Google to improve online safety for mobile users in Thailand.
Alongside this endeavour, Google also revealed that its anti-scam feature, launched in 2024 alongside the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (MDES), has successfully blocked over 6.6 million attempts to install high-risk apps. Google has further introduced upgraded mobile security features to safeguard Thais from cybercriminals’ social engineering tactics.
Interestingly, the recent announcements follow the January 2025 meeting between Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, MDES and NCSA officials, and Google Cloud’s Asia Pacific leaders, where they explored further cybersecurity collaboration. This move builds on the government and Google’s ongoing collaboration to bolster the country’s digital competitiveness and accelerate advancements in terms of artificial intelligence.
Prasert Jantararuangtong, Thailand’s deputy prime minister and minister of digital economy and society, commented, “Strengthening cybersecurity and combating online scams are paramount and urgent priorities for the government, especially as organisations and individuals increasingly embrace digital innovation.”
He further noted, “We commend Google for its proactive and continuous efforts in collaborating with us to safeguard citizens online through its cyber literacy programmes 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 enhance our country’s cyber resilience,” added Jantararuangtong.
Moreover, NCSA plans to roll out Google Cloud Cybershield, an innovation that combines automation, analytics, threat intelligence, and AI for centralised monitoring of security events across public sector entities.
This initiative will allow the Thailand Computer Emergency Response Team (ThaiCERT), NCSA’s national cyber defence centre, to undertake a more coordinated and streamlined response to potential cyber threats targeting government agencies and critical national infrastructure.
The collaboration will also encompass threat intelligence, allowing both organisations to engage in threat intelligence sharing to support government-wide cyber defence operations.
This includes NCSA being provided with access to Google Threat Intelligence, which includes Mandiant’s frontline threat intelligence and VirusTotal’s threat database. This will enrich the government’s understanding of new and prevalent tactics, techniques, and procedures used by cybercriminals and state-sponsored actors targeting public sector entities.
It also covers incident response expertise, enabling Mandiant consultants to provide specialised hands-on training in areas such as incident response, digital forensics, and malware analysis to qualified information security professionals from public sector entities selected by NCSA.
These professionals will be equipped with skills to rapidly detect, triage, and respond to sophisticated threats and intrusion scenarios, expanding the pool of cyber defence experts within Thailand’s public sector while reinforcing its readiness to combat future cyber challenges.
In addition to strengthening national cyber defence, the partnership will improve online safety for individual users. NCSA and Google Cloud aim to integrate Google Cloud Web Risk into government processes to shield Thai citizens and residents from scam and phishing websites.
Amorn Chomchoey, secretary general at National Cyber Security Agency (Thailand), also explained, “In line with our belief that robust cyber defence requires a combination of skilled talent and the right technology, we’ve been providing training programmes 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,” he further said.
In 2024, MDES and Google also made Thailand among the first countries worldwide to introduce a new anti-scam feature in Google Play Protect during the Safer Songkran initiative. Said feature has blocked more than 6.6 million attempts to install risky apps from internet-sideloading sources on 1.4 million-plus Android devices in Thailand.
Google also introduced additional mobile security measures in line with this year’s Safer Songkran.
According to the firm, the option to disable Play Protect’s app scanning feature will now be automatically disabled during phone calls, including voice and video calls on popular third-party apps. This move is designed to prevent cybercriminals from using social engineering tactics to deceive users into turning off Play Protect and downloading malicious apps from internet-sideloading sources.
