Today, at 3PM, government officials detailed how they have identified 9NearHacktivist, a hacker responsible for a supposed data leak which contained identification details of 55 million Thais, as a soldier. Contrary to what was believed by many in the public and media, they have yet to be able to arrest the suspect. Regarding this issue, they cited military laws and regulations. Funnily enough, they said they are having difficulty tracking him down since the suspect “turned off his mobile phone.” Additionally, the spokesperson said that they are willing to give “MorProm,” the program widely thought to be the source of the data breach, the benefit of the doubt since the investigation has yet to be concluded.
Personally, I find the announcement sketchy. Many things just don’t add up. On the 9Near website, which has been taken down (I tried accessing it to no avail), 9Near uses “we” and cites “conflicts with a sponsor” who is said to be politically motivated and that 9Near could not stand the “political shit” anymore. It doesn’t help that 9Near (9 =\[phonetically\] Gao เก้า; Near =\[translated\] ใกล้ ) seems to be a play on words of Move Forward’s, a major opposition party, Thai name. Doesn’t help that it’s so close to elections. Also, isn’t it too convenient for the suspect to be a soldier? Due to military regulations, they can not disclose the suspect’s surname, so for now, we have no idea who he is.
Thoughts?
**TLDR: What are your theories regarding this? Did they get the right person? Is he a scapegoat? What was the whole purpose of the data leak? Who is the mystery sponsor? Was it politically motivated? How? Share your theories!**
*Note: For those interested, most information regarding 9Near that is not through a major media site has been filtered out of the Thai webspace. You know what to do.*
