A rapper, an actress, Thai academics, and pro-democracy protest leaders were among dozens whose phones were hacked with spyware likely linked to the government, cybersecurity researchers said Monday in releasing forensic findings about the first known use of such espionage technology in Thailand.
At least 30 people were targeted for surveillance with Pegasus spyware produced by Israeli cybersecurity company NSO Group, research groups said as they unveiled their findings in Bangkok. These groups are Citizen Lab, a Canada-based cyber-research organization, iLaw, a Thai digital and legal rights NGO, and Digital Reach, a Southeast Asian tech rights organization.
The phone hacks were revealed in November 2021, when Apple warned several Thai iPhone users that “state-sponsored attackers” may have targeted their devices, said Ruchapong Chamjirachaikul, advocacy officer at iLaw.
“This was the same time Apple filed a lawsuit in the U.S. against the NSO Group whose spyware Pegasus had been used to hack iPhones. So, this was the moment we found out how serious the situation was,” he said while releasing a report about his group’s findings at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand (FCCT).
Soon after the revelation, the three organizations conducted a forensic investigation into the phones of those infected by the spyware, including people who had not been contacted by Apple.
“We discovered an extensive espionage campaign targeting Thai pro-democracy protesters and activists calling for reforms to the monarchy,” Citizen Lab said in its own report.
The victims included anti-government rapper Dechathorn “Hockhacker” Bamrungmuan, actress and activist Intira Charoenpura, as well as Arnon Nampa and Panusaya “Rung” Sithijirawattanakul and other leaders of pro-democracy protests that began in July 2020.
On Monday, a national police spokesman denied the allegations and said officers were f ..
Support the originator by clicking the read the rest link below.
