"Intellexa’s Predator spyware used to hack iPhone of journalist in Angola, research says" 17 February 2026

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.

The new research shows again that government customers of commercial surveillance vendors are increasingly using spyware 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...

...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. 

Earlier this year, the Treasury lifted sanctions against three other executives tied to Intellexa, a decision that left Senate Democrats demanding answers from the Trump administration. 

Dilian did not respond to a request for comment...