Cybersecurity incident
Date: 2019-04-01 00:00:00
Affected organization: Father Pierre Marie-Chanel Affognon
Affected country: Togo
Industry: Other Services (except Public Administration)
Event type: Exploitive
Event subtype: Exploitation of End Hosts
Motive: Political-Espionage
Actor: Togo
Actor type: Nation-State
Actor country: Togo
Description: Hackers used spyware, developed by Israeli technology firm NSO Group, that exploited a vulnerability in the messaging app WhatsApp to inject spyware onto the phones of opposition politicians and prominent religious leaders in Togo. The hack coincided with pro-reform protests in the country. Among the victims is Father Pierre Marie-Chanel Affognon, a Catholic priest.