Nation Group hit by 200 million cyberattacks in Cambodian IO campaign

Statement from Nation Group

Subject: Cambodian cyberattacks target Nation Group media with over 200 million hits

Since the outbreak of the Thai–Cambodian border conflict on 23 July 2025, Nation Group—as a professional media institution comprising more than ten affiliated outlets—has remained committed to accurate, ethical reporting guided by journalistic standards and a strong respect for human rights.

However, over the past three days, Nation Group has come under severe cyberattack originating from Cambodian users, targeting particularly The Nation Thailand and Thai News across both website and social media platforms. These attacks have included mass reporting on Facebook and a coordinated Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack on the website www.nationthailand.com, which registered 223 million hits within just 24 hours.

According to the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society and the Thai-Cambodian Border Conflict Command Centre, the assault constitutes a comprehensive Information Operations (IO) campaign involving three primary tactics:

• Mass creation of fake accounts originating from Cambodia to flood Thai news pages with spam, disrupting normal communication.
• Coordinated reporting of Thai news pages to Meta, aiming to trigger automatic takedowns through mass flagging.
• Spreading disinformation by posting false claims under news posts and using bots to mass-report those comments, thereby boosting their visibility and credibility.

As a result, The Nation and Thai News have become targets of systematic disinformation campaigns. These efforts include content distortion, image manipulation, and fabrication of fake news, all intended to discredit Thai media committed to responsible journalism.

In response, Nation Group has activated geo-blocking measures, restricting access to its platforms based on the user's IP address and country of origin. This policy aims to limit access from Cambodian-based users to mitigate further attacks.

Additionally, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) and the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (DES) are urgently coordinating with Meta to clarify the situation and request platform-level intervention to prevent ongoing abuse.

Despite these attacks, Nation Group remains resolute in its role as a professional and ethical media organisation under the “Nation Way”. We will continue to report with integrity, grounded in human rights and our commitment to truth, peace, and minimising harm. No form of cyberattack will deter us from delivering timely, credible information to the public.