Amnesty International has recently urged Thai authorities to put an end to state-sponsored smear campaigns and cyberattacks aimed at civil society organizations, including itself. These activities represent a significant challenge to Thailand’s civic space, according to Amnesty International. Chanatip Tatiyakaroonwong, a researcher for Amnesty’s Thailand division, characterized these cyberattacks as an “outrageous assault” on civic freedoms.
The issue came under the spotlight after opposition parliamentarian Chayaphon Satondee unveiled internal documents from a joint police and military command cyber team, as reported by local media Khaosod. The disclosures highlighted that entities such as Amnesty International, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, and other pro-democracy organizations are labeled as “high-value targets” of these cyber operations.
The cyberattacks reportedly utilize phishing tactics, fake websites, and brute-force attacks to steal personal information or provoke discussions around legal issues for potential prosecution. Chayaphon stated that during the fiscal year 2024 alone, there were numerous cyber operations targeting 85 entities, totaling over 84,000 incidents, including 44,096 phishing attempts and 26,231 brute-force attacks.
Such actions contravene the rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly as stipulated under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which raises questions about the respect for international norms and commitments by the Thai government.
Amnesty’s concerns align with findings from a previous report by iLaw and DigitalReach SEA, which exposed the use of Pegasus spyware by Thai authorities to hack into dissidents’ mobile devices between 2020 and 2021. This report indicated the pervasive targeting of individuals associated with pro-democracy movements.
Moreover, Amnesty’s earlier research highlighted technology-facilitated gender-based violence designed to silence women and LGBTI individuals, employing digital surveillance and online harassment as methods of intimidation. This coordinated effort to instill fear aligns with the findings of Meta’s Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior Report from February 2021, which revealed coordinated cyber efforts targeting domestic audiences by accounts linked to the Thai Military’s ISOC.
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