PHNOM PENH/BANGKOK, July 28th, 2025 — The long-standing border dispute between Cambodia and Thailand, centered around the Preah Vihear Temple and Prasat Ta Muen Thom, has intensified with a surge of cyberattacks, as Cambodian-backed hacktivist groups allegedly target Thai social media and news platforms.
The conflict, reignited by a deadly border clash on May 28, 2025, that killed a Cambodian soldier, has led to at least 23 deaths and displaced over 150,000 people across both nations, with cyberattacks amplifying the crisis.Cambodian hacktivist groups claimed responsibility for at least 73 cyberattacks on Thai entities in the weeks following the May incident.
These include Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks targeting Thai government, military, and private-sector websites, with nearly 50% aimed at disrupting official online services, and website defacements to protest Thai actions.The Thai Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) has responded by issuing arrest warrants for alleged members and collaborating with international agencies to pursue the hackers.
Social media has become a key battleground, with Cambodian groups allegedly deploying bots to mass-report Thai pages and flood comment sections with anti-Thai propaganda, using hashtags like **#ThailandOpenedFire**. Thai users have countered with **#CambodiaOpenedFire**, escalating online tensions.
The Pattaya News notes we have temporarily disabled comments on some social media accounts due to targeted anti-Thai spam attacks and comments that may violate Thai laws. Similarly, The Nation, a prominent Thai news outlet, reported that its social media platforms faced coordinated Information Operations (IO) attacks, including automated bot-driven spam and hate comments aimed at discrediting its coverage of the border dispute.
Additional examples of IO attacks include Cambodian-led efforts to spread disinformation, such as false claims that Thailand plans to “invade Cambodia,” countered by Thai narratives accusing Cambodia of aggression. Cambodian officials have also warned of AI-generated misinformation impersonating their institutions, further muddying the information landscape.
Thailand has accused Cambodian entities of facilitating online scam operations, prompting Thai police raids.The cyber conflict threatens regional stability, potentially undermining ASEAN’s 2026–2030 Cybersecurity Cooperation Strategy. Despite calls for a ceasefire from the US, China, and Malaysia, where leaders are meeting today on July 28, fighting and cyberattacks continue, with both sides leveraging digital tools to fuel nationalist sentiment and escalate the century-old dispute.
Photos: Thai and Cambodian leaders meet in Malaysia.
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