Thai Democracy Activists Targeted by Pegasus Spyware: Report

According to a report by the International Digital Rights Group, dozens of Thai democracy activists have been targeted by controversial Israeli spyware called Pegasus during the height of intense anti-government protests.

Two years ago, Thailand’s capital Bangkok was gripped by massive demonstrations as thousands demanded more civil liberties and an easing of the strict lèse-majesté laws that bar any criticism of the monarchy.

The report, by Canadian cybersecurity watchdog Citizen Lab in collaboration with Thai groups iLaw and DigitalReach, identified about 30 activists, academics, lawyers and NGO workers – mostly with ties to civil rights organizations – whose mobile devices were affected.

“The infections occurred from October 2020 to November 2021 and coincided with a period of widespread pro-democracy protests, mostly targeting key figures in the pro-democracy movement,” the report said.

Developed by Israeli company NSO Group, Pegasus software can extract data and activate cameras or microphones once it has successfully infiltrated a mobile device.

The report does not say clearly who is behind the use of the spyware, although it does note that NSO Group says it only sells the technology to governments.

In its own summary of the findings, Thai NGO iLaw said: “It can be concluded from circumstantial evidence that the use of Pegasus against dissidents would be of significant benefit to the Thai government.”

Among the targets, Citizen Lab said, were lese-majeste attorney Arnon Nampa, protest leader Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul and activist Jatupat Boonpattararaksa.

Panusaya is currently on bail and is facing 10 royal defamation charges, while Jatupat was denied bail earlier this year after he was also charged with insulting the monarchy.

Victims were warned in November 2021 when Apple sent out a notification informing them that their devices were the target of government-sponsored attacks.

After an independent investigation, Amnesty International condemned the hacker attack.

“These new revelations are a shocking example of how low authorities could stoop to control peaceful dissent,” said technologist Etienne Maynier.

“It should be remembered that this is only what has been found so far and the scale of surveillance attempts could be larger and more damaging.”

It is the latest such case in which Israeli software is used to monitor dissidents.

NSO Group is currently being sued in the US by Apple, which alleges the company’s spyware was used to infiltrate a number of iPhones worldwide.