Thai Opposition Leaders Natthaphong and Abhisit Say Apple Warned Them of Spyware; Minister Takes It to the National Security Council

Thailand's two main opposition leaders say Apple has warned them that their iPhones were targeted by spyware. Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut, leader of the People's Party, posted a screenshot on Facebook of an Apple alert saying his phone was the target of an attempted attack with spyware from the Pegasus family, Thai news site The Standard reported on 3 November. Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva was alerted too, according to the same report.

Apple says its threat notifications go to users who may have been "individually targeted by mercenary spyware attacks", likely because of who they are or what they do.

What the government says

Digital Economy and Society Minister Chaichanok Chidchob told Thai PBS that Abhisit had spoken only of "malware", not Pegasus, and that Apple's statement describes the same kind of hacking in 99 countries without naming the spyware. The ministry is contacting Apple for more information, he said, and will bring the matter to a National Security Council meeting on 4 November.

What the opposition says

People's Party MP Wiroj Lakkhanaadisorn asked the government to say whether it was involved, noting that Pegasus is not software private companies or individuals can normally buy. The alerts come ahead of a no-confidence debate scheduled for 7 to 11 December.

Apple alerts to Thai civil society members in November 2021 started an investigation in which Citizen Lab confirmed Pegasus infections on at least 30 people in the pro-democracy movement.