A mobile phone used by leading Angolan journalist Teixeira Candido was infected with Predator spyware in May 2024, according to a new report published Tuesday by Amnesty International.
Candido, who was serving as head of the Syndicate of Angolan Journalists at the time, was reportedly targeted through a series of WhatsApp messages beginning in April 2024. Amnesty said he appears to have clicked on a malicious link sent on 04 May, which triggered the installation of the Predator surveillance software.
According to the report, the infection granted whoever deployed the spyware full access to the contents of his phone, potentially including messages, calls, files, and other sensitive data.
“I feel exposed, as if I were taking a shower with the bathroom door wide open,” Candido told Reuters in an email ahead of the report’s publication.
He said he was unsure what information may have been extracted from his device. Candido added that he had been approached online by an individual he did not know, who claimed to be part of a group of students working on a project and seeking his opinion, a message Amnesty said ultimately delivered the spyware.
Predator is developed by spyware vendor Intellexa, whose surveillance products have previously been linked by researchers and the U.S. government to alleged privacy and human rights abuses in multiple countries.
Amnesty described the case as the first confirmed use of Predator spyware in Angola but said it did not attribute the targeting to any specific government client.
A lawyer associated with Intellexa did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The incident raises fresh concerns about digital surveillance and press freedom in Angola, where journalists and civil society groups have previously reported intimidation and harassment.
Rights advocates warn that commercial spyware tools like Predator can be used to monitor journalists, activists and political opponents, potentially undermining democratic accountability and freedom of expression.
Amnesty called for stronger regulation of the spyware industry and greater transparency regarding the export and use of such technologies, arguing that unchecked deployment poses serious risks to privacy and human rights.
