La French Tech Bangkok hosted a pivotal panel discussion on the escalating cybersecurity crisis, drawing a full house of business leaders and tech professionals to Fabbit Global Gateway Bangkok (Asok). The event addressed alarming new data, with Thailand recording 1,002 cybersecurity incidents in just the first five months of 2025, already surpassing the total for the previous year.
The panel featured leading experts who dissected the rising sophistication of threats, including AI-driven phishing, deepfake-enabled fraud, and bot-controlled DDoS campaigns. A central point of discussion was that over half of Thai organizations have suffered a data breach this year, with 52% admitting to paying ransoms.
"Scams and cyber-enabled fraud are now among the most pervasive forms of cybercrime, undermining public trust and inflicting major economic losses across both Europe and Asia," said Yannick Ragonneau, a Cybersecurity & Governance Expert. "This demands stronger global cooperation."
The experts provided actionable guidance for businesses of all sizes. Pierre-Yves Sarrat, Group Director of IT at GCP Hospitality, emphasized a tailored approach: "For SMEs, a straightforward, scalable framework is key. For larger enterprises, cybersecurity must be embedded in the company culture from the top down. The human factor is critical, requiring ongoing, role-specific training."
The discussion framed three critical questions now facing executives:
- How can organizations defend against AI-enhanced phishing and deepfake scams?
- Should companies adopt a strict 'no-ransom' payment policy amid shrinking insurance coverage?
- How will Thailand fill nearly 9,000 open cybersecurity roles to close the skills gap?
In response, panelists recommended immediate actions:
- Conduct a zero-trust readiness assessment by year-end.
- Demand behavioral anomaly detection from security providers, not just basic alerts.
- Run a company-wide incident response simulation within 30 days.
"The biggest mistakes are solution-based engineering and over-reliance on audits," said Gregory Pickett, Head of Cyber Security Operations at Hellfire Security. "We keep fighting because we are protecting Thailand, and Thai people are worth fighting for."
The event also served as a platform for La French Tech Bangkok to introduce its new Board of Directors for 2025-2026, led by Co-Presidents Olivier Dombey and Mathieu Verhaeghe. The new board will guide the community's next phase of growth, focusing on fostering innovation and tackling key challenges like digital security.
The cybersecurity conversation will continue at CyberSecAsia x Thailand International Cyber Week, a leading regional event scheduled for 4-5 February 2026 at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center in Bangkok.