Dechathorn Bamrungmuang said he was “appalled” by the hack.
Bangkok:
A Thai rapper vowed not to be silent on Thursday after he and at least five other government critics received messages from Apple warning that state-sponsored hackers may be targeting to their phone.
The US tech giant warned Thai activists that, if successful, hackers could remotely access their data, even the camera and microphone on their iPhones.
The warning comes as Apple sues NSO Group, the Israeli spyware maker at the heart of the Pegasus surveillance scandal, seeking to prevent it from targeting iPhones.
Dechathorn “Hockhacker” Bamrungmuang, from the group Rap Against Dictatorship, posted a screenshot of the message to his Facebook page late Wednesday.
“Apple believes you are being targeted by state-sponsored attackers who are attempting to remotely compromise iPhones associated with your Apple ID,” the notice warns.
“These attackers may be targeting you individually because of who you are or what you do.”
Dechathorn, who was previously arrested for sedation but later released, said he was “appalled” by the hack.
“We (Rap Against Dictatorship) will probably write a song about this,” Dechathorn told AFP.
“I think the state will not stop here.”
Rap Against Dictatorship played a key role in the youth-led protests that rocked Bangkok last year, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha, who came to power in a 2014 coup.
When asked about the messages from Apple, Anucha Burapachaisri, Deputy Secretary General of the Prime Minister, said: “If it is authentic, the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society will look into this.”
Writer Sarinee Achavanuntakul, political scientist Prajak Kongkirati of Thammasat University, filmmakers Elia Fofi and Yingcheep Atchanont, who work for a human rights law firm, all shared the same warning on their social media sites. .
The sixth target is believed to be a human rights lawyer, while local media reported that two other activists and academics were affected.
Worry about ‘No click’ hack
Scary, Sarinee writes, the hack exploited a system flaw to embed “spyware into the iPhone itself without the owner’s knowledge”.
The warnings posted by the activists look genuine, but AFP has reached out to Apple to try and confirm this.
It remains unclear whether Thailand’s warnings are related to the Pegasus scandal, but on Tuesday, Apple said it was notifying users it believes have been targeted.
Pegasus spyware essentially turns smartphones into pocket spy devices, allowing hackers to view messages and photos of their targets, track their location, and turn on their cameras without their knowledge.
The new concerns came to light in September when Apple released a fix for a weakness that allowed NSO spyware to infect devices without a user clicking on a malicious link or message.
The so-called “zero-click” attack can silently damage a targeted device and has been identified by researchers at Citizen Lab, an organization that monitors cybersecurity in Canada.
Human rights groups have long criticized the Thai government for silencing, harassing and arresting critics.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and was automatically generated from the feed provided.)
