How to Comply with Thailand’s Personal Data Protection Act in 2025 – Cybersecurity Consulting Thailand

A practical guide for Thai executives, SMEs, and international companies operating in Thailand looking for cybersecurity consulting

วิธีปฏิบัติตามพระราชบัญญัติคุ้มครองข้อมูลส่วนบุคคล พ.ศ.

คู่มือปฏิบัติสำหรับผู้บริหาร SMEs และบริษัทต่างชาติที่ดำเนินธุรกิจในประเทศไทย

Wiṭhī pt̩ibạti tāmph ra rāch bạỵỵạti khûmkhrxng k̄ĥxmūl s̄̀wn bukhkhl ph.Ṣ̄. 

Khū̀mụ̄x pt̩ibạti s̄ảh̄rạb p̄hū̂ brih̄ār SMEs læa bris̄ʹạth t̀āng chāti thī̀ dảnein ṭhurkic nı pratheṣ̄thịy

Introduction: PDPA Thailand as a business mandate — not an IT project

Thailand’s Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA Thailand) has shifted from an overlooked regulation to a matter of corporate governance and commercial credibility. Since full enforcement began on 1 June 2022, the Office of the Personal Data Protection Committee (PDPC) has increased scrutiny, issued compliance clarifications, and begun investigating complaints lodged by customers, employees, and regulators.

In 2025, business leaders in Thailand are no longer asking “Does PDPA apply to us?”
They are asking:

“How do we prove compliance with Thailand’s Personal Data Protection Act?”

The real cost of non-compliance is not the monetary penalty; it is the loss of reputation and loss of contract opportunities — especially for companies that work in sectors such as finance, e-commerce, logistics, manufacturing, healthcare, or hospitality. Organisations handling personal or sensitive data now face mandatory obligations under PDPA Thailand that require leadership attention, clear documentation, and evidence of action. Cyber security consulting Thailand company Secure Konnect is here to help.

The PDPA Thailand is explicitly designed to:

• protect personal information of individuals in Thailand,

• regulate how organisations collect, use, store, transfer, and delete data,

• hold executives accountable for failure to prevent data breaches.

Critically, PDPA compliance aligns with international information security standards, including:

• ISO 27001 Thailand (international cybersecurity and information security standard),

• ISO31000 (risk management),

• GDPR (EU) (global benchmark for privacy laws).

For Thai businesses wanting to operate internationally or gain trust from multinational clients, PDPA compliance coupled with ISO 27001 is no longer optional — it is now a commercial differentiator.

What are the rules for Thailand’s Personal Data Protection Act?

PDPA Thailand applies to any organisation that collects personal data — regardless of size, ownership, or location of processing. The scope is broad: if your organisation touches personal data of a Thai citizen, you are covered.

Personal data includes:

• names, phone numbers, addresses,

• ID card numbers, passport numbers,

• email addresses and social media handles,

• online tracking identifiers (cookies, IP address, device ID).

Sensitive personal data requires enhanced protections and explicit consent:

• health data,

• biometrics (face scan, fingerprint),

• religion,

• sexual orientation,

• financial data.

PDPA Thailand requires your organisation to:

Data protection Thailand is not a document exercise — it requires well-governed processes, training, and cybersecurity maturity. Cyber security consulting Thailand.

What is the difference between Thailand’s PDPA and GDPR?

PDPA and GDPR share the same purpose: protect personal data.

However, there are operational differences that executives should understand:

Both laws require similar controls — and both benefit from adoption of ISO 27001 Thailand.

For businesses operating across multiple countries, aligning PDPA Thailand compliance with ISO27001 Thailand ensures repeatability, auditability, and defensibility.

What are the 7 Principles of Thailand’s Personal Data Protection Act?

Every PDPA Thailand requirement can be traced back to seven foundational governance principles. During audits, these are the principles your business must demonstrate adherence to:

A business that cannot produce documented evidence of compliance is considered non-compliant, even if controls exist informally. Cybersecurity consulting Thailand firm, Secure Konnect, alwayd advise a full review to ensure your compliance.

PDPA Thailand Compliance Roadmap: The Method Used by Top Cybersecurity Consultanting Firms in Thailand

Most organisations struggle not with understanding the law, but with operationalising it.

Below is a proven PDPA Thailand compliance roadmap used in cybersecurity consulting Thailand, particularly for SMEs and mid-size companies.

1. Conduct a Secure Konnect PDPA Thailand Readiness Assessment and ISO 27001 Gap Review

Start with a baseline assessment:

• What data do we collect?

• Where is it stored?

• Who has access?

• How do we prove compliance?

This often includes an ISO27001 Thailand and PDPA Thailand gap assessment, which identifies weaknesses in:

• governance,

• cybersecurity controls,

• documentation and evidence,

• vendor and third-party data management.

Deliverables from this phase usually include:

• gap assessment report,

• prioritised action plan,

• risk register.

2. Document data governance and PDPA Thailand compliance policies

These are mandatory audit artefacts.
Policies include:

• Data Protection Policy

• Data Breach Response Plan

• Data Subject Rights Procedure

• Consent Management Policy

• Data Retention & Disposal Policy

This is usually where data protection consulting for SMEs Thailand provides the biggest value — because templates found online do not meet Thai regulatory requirements or industry expectations. Cybersecurity consulting Thailand.

3. Map personal data flows

This identifies where the data originates, where it travels, and where it is stored.

Without data flow mapping, you cannot:

• fulfil data requests from customers,

• prove minimisation,

• identify where security controls are required.

4. Implement cybersecurity controls

Controls include:

• Multi-factor authentication (MFA),

• Access control based on role (least privilege),

• Encryption at rest and in transit,

• Vendor / cloud provider security reviews,

• Logging, monitoring, and breach response capability.

PDPA compliance without cybersecurity is considered incomplete. Cybersecurity consulting Thailand firm Secure Konnect advise a full review at this stage.

5. Staff and board training

The number one cause of data breaches in Thailand?

Human error.

Training employees — from reception to executives — is essential.
Many companies run corporate governance and cybersecurity training Thailand, focusing on:

• phishing and social engineering,

• handling personal data,

• recognising data breach indicators.

6. Data Protection Officer (if required)

A DPO is mandatory for:

• organisations processing large volumes of personal data,

• healthcare, insurance, education, banks, logistics,

• any organisation handling sensitive data.

SMEs often choose a virtual DPO (vDPO) model to reduce cost.

7. Continuous review and audit

PDPA is not a project.
Auditors and business partners increasingly request evidence of ongoing monitoring, not just initial documentation. This is one reason why cybersecurity consulting Thailand partners Secure Konnect offer solutions to help Thai businesses comply.

ISO 27001 Thailand — Why Thai Businesses Should Consider Certification

While the PDPA governs privacy and legal compliance, ISO 27001 governs information security controls and defence against cyber threats.

Many Thai organisations adopt ISO 27001 because:

• multinational customers require it as a procurement condition,

• it reduces cyber insurance premiums,

• it gives executives visibility and control over data security.

Benefits of ISO 27001 certification in Thailand

✅ Proves to partners and customers that your business treats information security seriously
✅ Provides a structured system to manage risk, not react to it
✅ Builds defensibility in the event of a cyber incident or PDPA investigation

In 2025, ISO 27001 is no longer limited to banks and telecom companies.
Manufacturers, real estate firms, education providers, and hospitality operators now pursue certification for commercial advantage.

A PDPA-compliant business is legally safer.
An ISO 27001-certified business is competitively stronger.

What is the penalty for breaches of Thailand’s Personal Data Protection Act for Thai businesses?

Penalties can include:

But the most damaging penalty is not financial — it is reputational.

A data breach now spreads on social media in minutes.
Businesses that lose personal data also lose:

• customer trust,

• commercial partners,

• future contract opportunities.

Conclusion

PDPA compliance is no longer a “nice to have.”
It is a baseline expectation of responsible business practice, on par with accounting, taxation, and corporate governance.

Companies that implement:

• PDPA governance, and

• ISO 27001 Thailand cybersecurity controls

not only avoid penalties — they attract more clients, partners, and revenue.

In Thailand and across ASEAN, the organisations winning the most competitive contracts are those able to demonstrate:

“We take data privacy and cybersecurity seriously — and we can prove it.”