Parasite in Your Phone: Thai Pro-democracy Activists Today, Thai Citizens Tomorrow?

Parasite in Your Phone: Thai Pro-democracy Activists Today, Thai Citizens Tomorrow?

On November 24, 2021, many Thai nationals received an email from Apple alerting them that their iPhones were being targeted by a state-sponsored attacker. All of them, despite having a diverse background, had one thing in common: they were prominent critics of the current regime and had open roles in the youth-led protests that rocked the country with their demands for political and royal reform.

They later learned that they had fallen prey to Pegasus, a highly sophisticated spyware produced by the Israel-based cybersecurity company NSO Group. Pegasus is licensed only to government agencies and requires the approval of the Israeli government. Unlike a minor scam, Pegasus boasts the ability to perform “zero-click” attacks, which do not require luring the target into clicking on malicious links.

In this event, iLaw, together with DigitalReach and the Citizen Lab, will present the findings of their ongoing investigation into various individuals who have been infected with Pegasus. The investigation discovered that the timeline of possible infection dates is linked to the period in which the pro-democracy movement peaked in 2020-2021. A panel discussing Pegasus’s victims will be followed by a consideration of the next moves that Thai civil society could take to protect our rights to privacy under the authoritarian regime in Thailand.

10.00 – 10.45: Presentation on findings based on report Parasite that Smiles: Pegasus Spyware Targeting Dissidents in Thailand

• John Scott-Railton, The Citizen Lab
• Ruchapong Chamjirachaikul, iLaw
• Anon Chawalawan, iLaw
• Moderator: Sutawan Chanprasert, DigitalReach1

10.45 – 11.15: Q&A

Note: this session will be presented in English with simultaneous interpretation into Thai

11.15 – 12.15 Panel: When we know Big Brother is watching

• Puangthong Pawakapan, lecturer at Chulalongkorn University
• Sarinee Achavanuntakul, member of Thai Netizen Network
• Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul, United Front of Thammasat and Demonstration
• Piyarat Chongthep, We Volunteer
• Moderator: Yingcheep Atchanont, iLaw

12.15 – 12.30 Q&A

Note: this session will be presented in Thai with simultaneous interpretation into English.