Intellexa's Predator spyware used to hack iPhone of journalist in Angola, research says | TechCrunch

"A government customer of sanctioned spyware maker Intellexa hacked the phone of a prominent journalist in Angola, according to Amnesty International, the latest case of targeting someone in civil society with powerful phone hacking software. The human rights organization published a new report Tuesday analyzing several hacking attempts against local journalist and press freedom activist Teixeira Cândido, in which he was sent a series of malicious links via WhatsApp during 2024. Cândido eventually clicked on one and his iPhone was hacked with Intellexa's spyware, dubbed Predator, Amnesty found."

"Intellexa is one of the most controversial spyware makers of the last few years, operating from different jurisdictions to skirt export laws, and using an "opaque web of corporate entities" - as a U.S government official put it at the time - to hide its activities. In 2024, around the same time one of Intellexa's customers was targeting Cândido with its spyware, the outgoing Biden administration sanctioned the company, as well as its founder Tal Dilian and his business partner Sara Aleksandra Fayssal Hamou."

"The new research shows again that government customers of commercial surveillance vendors are increasingly using spyware used to target journalists, politicians, and other ordinary citizens, including critics. Researchers have previously found evidence of Predator abuse in Egypt, Greece, and Vietnam, where the government reportedly targeted U.S. officials by sending the spyware via links on X."

Teixeira Cândido, a journalist and press freedom activist in Angola, received multiple malicious WhatsApp links during 2024 and clicked one that installed Predator spyware on his iPhone. Predator is sold by Intellexa, a company that operates across jurisdictions and employs an "opaque web of corporate entities" to conceal activities and evade export controls. Government customers of commercial surveillance vendors are increasingly deploying such spyware to target journalists, politicians, critics, and ordinary citizens. Evidence of Predator abuse has appeared in Egypt, Greece, and Vietnam. U.S. sanctions targeted Intellexa and its founders in 2024, while some related sanctions were later lifted.

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