At least 30 political activists in Thailand have been hacked using Israeli cyber-arms company NSO Group's surveillance spyware Pegasus.

Thai human rights group iLaw, in its report on Monday, said 24 political activists, three academics and three members of civil society groups were targeted between October 2020 and November 2021.

The probe by iLaw, Southeast Asian internet watchdog Digital Reach and Toronto-based Citizen Lab, followed a mass alert from Apple in November.

The alert informed thousands of iPhone users, including in Thailand, that they were targets of "state-sponsored attackers".

Yingcheep Atchanont, programme manager at iLaw, was among those hacked and said his group would investigate further, and pursue legal action once it becomes clear who in Thailand was operating Pegasus.

"NSO has said that they only sell the software to governments and that all the victims here are Thai government critics, so they benefited the most," he said.

NSO Group and a spokesperson for Thailand's government did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

'Tip of the iceberg'

Pegasus has been used by governments to spy on journalists, activists and dissidents and the Israeli firm behind it, NSO Group, has been sued by Apple and placed on a US trade blacklist.

Wetang Phuangsup, a spokesperson for Thailand's ministry of Digital Economy and Society, said his ministry was not aware of any usage of spyware by the government.

Citizen Lab's report, which was separate to that of iLaw, examined digital traces left in the victims' phones and identified Pegasus usage in Thailand as far back as May 2014.

John Scott-Railton, a Citizen Lab researcher, said the investigation showed Pegasus was being operated in Thailand, with many more hacking victims likely.

"What we uncovered is a lot of targeting of dozens of people over a specific time frame, but having done investigation into Pegasus...over the decade, I am confident that it is the tip of the iceberg," he said in an online presentation on Monday.

The estimated spending required to revive threatened species is around $1.15 billion a year, the report said, adding that the previous government's targeted spending for threatened species was $33.7 million.

Australia's average land temperatures have increased by 1.4 degrees Centigrade since the early 20th century.

"Sea levels continue to rise faster than the global average and threaten coastal communities," the report said.

Many of the country's most prized ecosystems, such as the Great Barrier Reef which has been hit by mass coral bleaching, are threatened by the climate crisis and environmental extremes, the report said.

While coral reef health is declining due to marine heatwaves, the report also highlighted the threat of ocean acidification, caused by absorption of carbon dioxide from the air, which it said was nearing a tipping point that would cause the decline of coral juveniles that are key to reef recovery./Reuters