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AIS has launched a major communications campaign and a new short video on the theme of “Wisdom to Survive”, as part of the company’s obligations to be a digital mentor for every generation. AIS, Thailand’s top digital service provider, is on a mission to nurture and grow the economy, and level up society to use digital safely and constructively. As such, AIS is focused on highlighting the many different challenges posed by cyber threats. These issues have now become very serious, which can happen to anyone irrespective of gender or age. The key to defeat cyber threats is “wisdom”. Today, people can learn for themselves through the Aunjai Cyber course which is part of a campaign with the Mental Health Department of the Ministry of Public Health to promote digital well-being. The campaign also involves the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau or Cyber-Police in the matter of bringing criminal prosecutions against Internet scammers, all of which is supporting regular users to become good cyber citizens.

Saichon Submakudom, Head of Public Relations at AIS explained, “The mission of AIS Aunjai Cyber is to work for sustainability and encourage digital skills in two aspects: 1) Using technology to develop formats of digital service which prevent cyber threats, and 2) Instilling wisdom and knowledge to promote digital skills, so that Thai people are not naïve, and can negotiate the digital world safely and constructively. The latest development has been to launch a new online course, “Aunjai Cyber”, in a collaboration between the state and private sectors. This will level up the teaching of digital skills and protect against cyber threats, which will build immunity in new digital lifestyles to members of the public from an early age, which is another tool to defeat cyber-attacks.

“In the course of our work, we have seen the issue double in importance with serious impacts on society, sometimes to the extent of major damage to both life and property. Prevention and immunization, alongside raising awareness among the whole Thai population, has now become an urgent item on the agenda. This in turn gave rise to the AIS campaign under the concept, ‘Wisdom to Survive’. We believe that the key to defeating cyber threats is correct knowledge, another reason for AIS to dedicate itself to sharing its knowledge to the Thai public, as a weapon to deter any potential cyber threat.”

Phalat Romcai, Director of the short film, “Phenomena” gave some additional insights on working with AIS on the Aunjai Cyber project. “It was an enjoyable challenge for us to communicate cyber threats in a way to build understanding among a wide range of viewers. We wanted to show that cyber threats are a serious problem, and that people can literally die if they are uninformed and do not have the wherewithal to cope. The single thing enabling us to survive is wisdom. We have chosen to tell these stories in a comedy-horror style through characters who have become the victims of cyber threats, eventually resulting in their deaths. This communicates that anyone can become a victim in the online world and digital media, and that only ‘wisdom’ can help us to survive.”

Dr. Amporn Benjaponpitak, Director General of the Mental Health Department, spoke about a mental health crisis, and particularly aspects of mental health concerned with behaviours in using online media, which had an impact on digital hygiene. “Survival and good health, which includes both physical and mental health, is at issue today when many Thais, and especially the young, come up against cyber threats and are unable to cope with them appropriately. The Department of Mental Health has thus been focused on getting everyone to understand the importance of digital skills and digital literacy in particular. We have been collaborating with every sector to raise awareness. Today, we think it is time to come together and put a stop to these problems and reduce the damage to minds, lives and property. We promote the know-how to survive in the modern digital world before it is too late.”

Alongside promoting digital skills to cope with trolling, ridicule and cyber-bullying, which are issues impacting people’s well-being, digital awareness can also prevent threats from scammer gangs using the opportunities given by technology to deceive people, which can end in damage to life and property. Pol. Maj. Gen. Niwate Arpawasin, Deputy Commissioner of Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB), expressed his opinions on this matter. “Preventing and suppressing cyber-crime is the core obligation of CCIB. The key to our success is for the general population to be mindful and knowledgeable about the scammers’ modus operandi. I am confident that together we can communicate and build up the requisite know-how for the public to be one step ahead of the scammers, and be resistant to fraudulent lures or claims in all their many forms. They should not talk to callers they cannot identify, and should not give personal information, nor transfer cash to people they don’t know from accepting a telephone call. If they understand what is going on and know how to ‘say no’, this knowledge is good immunity for safety in the cyber world.”

Follow the “Wisdom to Survive” campaign on Facebook: AIS Sustainability and watch the new TVC on https://m.ais.co.th/rxHnoozSJ