Regime cyber-spying

In commenting on the regime’s Pegasus hacking of his phone, Prajak Kongkirati, an academic at Thammasat University, told VOA News: “It’s very scary…. It’s like the 1984 novel,” referring Orwell’s dystopian novel about the surveillance state. He added: “But this is in real life, it’s really happening.”

The team that outed the spies is “continuing to search for more targets…”.

Yingcheep Atchanont, iLaw’s program manager, stated: “So far we have only some names in our heads that we think they should be checked, but I know there are more people who can be targets…. We believe that if the government possesses this weapon, the victims will be much more.”

In fact, Prachatai has already reported that Phicharn Chaowapatanawong “a Move Forward Party MP has claimed 5 more victims of state-sponsored spyware attacks using Pegasus. 3 are his party colleagues and 2 are core figures in the Progressive Movement, a splinter group from the dissolved Future Forward Party. Most attacks were timed to coincide with bold speeches in parliament.” They are:

• Bencha Saengchantra, MFP MP, attacked three times,
• Chaithawat Tulathon, MFP Secretary-General and MP, attacked once
• Pakorn Areekul, former activist and former MFP MP candidate, attacked twice,
• Pannika Wanich, Progressive Movement spokesperson, attacked twice,
• Piyabutr Saengkanokkul, Progressive Movement Secretary-General, attacked eight times.