Potent Pegasus spyware used to target Thai pro-democracy activists

Pro-democracy activists in Thailand were targeted by powerful spyware only licensed to governments and law enforcement to investigate terrorism and other serious crimes, according to cybersecurity researchers.

Pegasus spyware was found on the phones of 30 individuals in Thailand, which included prominent leaders of the mass pro-democracy protests than began in 2020 and people who publicly criticized the country’s government, reported Amnesty International.

“We can now officially add Thailand to the growing list of countries where people peacefully calling for change, expressing an opinion, or discussing government policies may trigger invasive surveillance with a profound toll on an individual’s freedom of expression, privacy, and sense of security,” said Amnesty International technologist Etienne Maynier in a statement on Mondauy.

“It is worth remembering that this is only what has been found so far, and the scale of surveillance attempts could be bigger and more damaging.”

Pegasus is considered one of the most sophisticated pieces of spyware in the world. Once a device is infected, the attacker gains complete control over the phone and its data. It can even turn on the phone’s camera and microphone without the owner’s knowledge, according to the report.

Thai NGO iLaw, Digital Reach and The Citizen lab said the infections spanned 2020 to 2021. Apple notified many of the victims in November 2021 that their devices may have been infected by state-sponsored attackers.

Thailand has had over a dozen successful coups since transitioning from an absolute monarch to a constitutional one in 1932, reports The Times of London. The military seized power in 2014 and installed its leader, Prayut Chan-o-cha, in a 2019 election that observers say was rigged.

Pegasus’s developer, the Israeli NSO Group, says it only sells its products to government agencies with the approval of the Israeli government.

The Security Lab has confirmed multiple instances of Pegasus being used against human rights activists, journalists and political leaders over the past year, including Morocco-Western Sahara and Poland, reports Amnesty International.