Suspect arrested in Thai PM Twitter account hack case, says tech site

Thai authorities have arrested a 22-year-old university student in connection with the alleged hacking of Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's Twitter account earlier this month. Police claimed university student Aekawit Thongdeeworakul admitted hacking into the Twitter account and posting messages accusing her of incompetence, The Hacker News reported Friday night. It said the fourth-year architecture student at Chulalongkorn University could face up to two years in prison if found guilty of illegally accessing computer systems without authorization. The Prime Minister's Twitter account was hacked last Oct. 2, with the perpetrator posting false tweets before the account was suspended. In the false tweets, the hackers accused the prime minister of cronyism and various failures. The other false tweets before the account was suspended had touched on "chances for the poor people" and education, according to a separate report on The Asian Correspondent. "Thailand needs change! It’s time that everybody in this country wakes up! The stupidity must end!" the Asian Correspondent quoted another false tweet as saying. A check of the Prime Minister's account as of 9:20 p.m. Friday showed it was still suspended. Hacker maintains 'innocence' A blog entry by computer security firm Sophos said ICT Minister Anudith Nakornthap told Thai media the alleged hacker believed his actions were innocent "as he didn't realize it would be a big deal." The ICT minister also disclosed the Prime Minister had her Gmail account hacked last September 30 by unknown people, and her password was disseminated across the computer underground. "Thongdeeworakul is said to have subsequently used the information to gain access to the prime minister's Twitter account. The IP address used to access the account ultimately lead investigators back to Thongdeeworakul," Sophos said. — ELR, GMA News