Thai-Cambodian cyberwarriors clash amid truce

Thailand‑Cambodia Border Clash: Over 40 Killed, 300,000 Displaced, Cyber War Escalates

Border Conflict Ends with Ceasefire, but Online Attacks Flares

The five‑day clash along the Thailand‑Cambodia frontier resulted in more than 40 deaths and forced over 300,000 people to abandon their homes. While a ceasefire may have halted the physical battles, a new front has opened in the digital realm.

Disinformation Blitz: Both Sides Blame the Other

• Thai officials logged over 500 million online attacks, including spam reports and distributed denial of service (DDoS) actions that overloaded government websites.
• Cambodian spokesman Pen Bona described the cyber engagements as a “psychological war,” noting that fake news flows from both social media users and official Thai outlets.

Avatar Accounts and Bot‑Generated Posts

• Freshly created “avatar” accounts targeted popular Thai users and media accounts.
• On 24 July, a Facebook post by suspended prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra received 16,000 comments, many repeating “Queen of drama in Thailand.”
• On 26 July, a similar post was hit with 31,800 comments, many reading “Best drama queen of 2025” with snake and crocodile emojis.
• These attacks aimed to sow division among Thais and propagate deception.
• Conversely, Cambodian spokesman Pen Bona said that fake news from Thailand sought to divide Cambodia.

Images and Videos Misattributed

• A video showing a deadly Cambodian rocket attack on a Thai petrol station was shared with captions claiming it was an attack on Cambodian soil.
• Another post by the verified page of Cambodian Secretary of State Vengsrun Kuoch claimed Thai forces used chemical weapons, but the photo actually depicted an aircraft dropping fire retardants during the Los Angeles wildfires in January 2025.

Obscenities: State‑Run Websites Defaced

• Hackers from both nations infiltrated state‑run websites to deface pages with mocking or offensive messages.
• Thi Thai government’s NBT World, an English‑language news site, had headlines about the acting prime minister Phumtham Wechayachai replaced with obscenities.
• Thai hackers altered the login page of Cambodia’s Sachak Asia Development Institute to display an image of former leader Hun Sen with an exaggerated hairstyle, referencing a now‑noted meme.

Modern Warfare Takes a Digital Turn

Cyber attacks—whether spreading disinformation or disrupting adversary infrastructure—are becoming a staple of contemporary conflict. The Ukraine conflict offers a parallel, with Kyiv and allies consistently accusing Russia of state‑backed cyberwarfare, including a recent hack that grounded dozens of flights.

Academic Perspective

Jessada Salathong, a mass communications professor at Chulalongkorn University, noted that the border clashes unleashed the full spectrum of information disorder, carried out by both sides. “In an era where anyone can claim to be media, information warfare pulls in everyone,” he said.