Thai Court Rejects Spyware Allegations from Activist

A court in Thailand has dismissed a lawsuit brought by an activist who claims authorities hacked his phone with NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware to extract data.

The Civil Court in Bangkok said Jatupat Boonpattararaksa (aka Pai Dao Din) failed to show sufficient evidence that his phone had been infected with Pegasus spyware produced by NSO Group Technologies, reports The Associated Press.

Jatupat is a well-known human rights defender and activist from Thailand who has been charged and imprisoned multiple times, including for sedition lese majesty.

According to the AP report, Jatupat claimed his phone was infected on three occasions in 2021, during large-scale protests against the government, some of which he led himself together with fellow activists.

Investigators from Canada’s Citizen Lab have said that government surveillance targeted multiple people in Thailand using Pegasus.

‘Court chose to protect state security’

“When pressed by the opposition in Parliament in 2022, the government acknowledged that state agencies had used Pegasus for activities related to ‘security or narcotics,’ according to The AP.

“We fought for this because we wanted to prove whom the law will protect,” Jatupat said, speaking outside of court. “It is obvious today that the court chose to protect state security.”

NSO reportedly welcomed the ruling, saying it reaffirmed “the lack of evidence to support the claims against our company.”

“We remain committed to the responsible use of our technologies, which are exclusively provided to government agencies for the prevention of serious crimes and terrorism,” spokesperson Gil Lainer said in an email to The Associated Press. “NSO operates under strict regulatory frameworks and ethical standards, and we will continue to cooperate with authorities to ensure our products are used lawfully and effectively.”

NSO Group has historically maintained that it offers Pegasus to government agencies and police solely to aid combating criminals.

Spyware in the spotlight

Documents from Facebook’s lawsuit against the Israeli spyware maker surfaced earlier this month, claiming NSO has been infecting anywhere from hundreds to tens of thousands of devices over several years despite efforts by Facebook, Google and Apple to muffle its operations.

Bitdefender recommends you keep your devices up to date with the latest security patches issued by the vendor as the first important step against a spyware infection – especially if you consider yourself a target. Apple and Google issue periodic security updates designed to patch vulnerabilities exploitable in malware attacks.

On iOS and macOS, keep the trusty Lockdown Mode toggle handy whenever you believe hackers might be targeting you.

For peace of mind, run a dedicated security solution on all your personal devices.

Check out our comprehensive guide “How Spyware Infects Smartphones and How to Defend Against It” to learn more about the spyware threat and how to stay protected.