According to a new report by Amnesty International, a journalist in Angola was a victim of spyware called “Predator.” The journalist, Teixeira Cândido, had his iPhone infected with the spyware in 2024, after he had clicked on a malicious link sent through WhatsApp.
Predator is sold by the Intellexa Consortium, a company that markets surveillance tools to governments and law enforcement agencies. Investigations by human rights groups and media outlets have repeatedly linked the software to the surveillance of journalists, activists, and political figures. Once installed, Predator can access private messages, record calls, track location, extract passwords, and pull photos and files from a device.
Cândido isn’t your regular reporter. He’s a press freedom advocate and former secretary general of the Syndicate of Angolan Journalists. Amnesty says he was targeted multiple times over several months in 2024.
Fishon Amos
For some time now, there has been a growing pattern for such incidents. Amnesty’s Security Lab has previously confirmed abuses of Predator in countries such as Egypt, Pakistan, and Greece.
“These new findings from Angola are yet another reminder that journalists everywhere are at risk until this industry is held accountable. Despite repeated public exposures, criminal investigations, and financial sanctions, Intellexa’s Predator spyware continues to be deployed against civil society around the world,.” Donncha Ó Cearbhaill, head of Amnesty’s Security Lab, said.
The Amnesty report did not clarify who was responsible for the attack on Cândido’s phone, but it does mention that this incident occured as the Angolan government faced backlash for what critics have described as “deepening authoritarian practices.”
The spyware industry has grown into a shadowy market where private firms develop advanced intrusion tools and sell them to state actors. As oversight remains patchy, accountability often arrives after the damage is done.
Beyond Angola, there’s also an international play to this event. Intellexa and several associated individuals were sanctioned by the American government between 2023 and 2024 over allegations that their tools were used to target Americans, including government officials and journalists. In December, the Donald Trump administration removed sanctions on three Intellexa-linked individuals. Five opposition party senators have since requested a briefing to understand the reasoning behind that decision.
As this case continues to unfold, neither the representatives of the Angola government nor Intellexa have responded to the incident.
Ogbonda Chivumnovu
