Cyber-attacks on Angolan Journalists Who Reported Government Corruption

Cyber-attacks have been levied against journalists in Angola after they reported that the Angolan president's chief of staff had embezzled public funds.

Independent online news provider Correio Angolense published an article online covering the claims against Edeltrudes Costa that were first made by the Portuguese TV channel Televisão Independente (TVI).

The broadcaster launched an investigation after companies owned by Costa were awarded several major contracts by the government, including a multi-million-dollar contract to renovate Angola's airports. TVI alleged that Costa transferred public money paid to his businesses to offshore accounts in Panama and Portugal, then used it to acquire luxury properties.

Shortly after Correio Angolense covered the allegations, the website of the news provider was hit by a denial-of-service (DDoS) attack. As a result, the website has been inaccessible since September 25. 

Its editor, Graça Campos, told Reporters Without Borders (RSF) that the site was crashed by thousands of simultaneous connection attempts in what appeared to be a deliberate cyber-attack.

RSF's former Angola correspondent, freelance journalist Siona Casimiro, was also the target of a cyber-attack after he worked on the Costa embezzlement story. 

Casimiro told RSF: “There can be no doubt about the desire to silence journalists with regard to the Edeltrudes Costa affair."

Combatting corruption has been one of President João Lourenço's key pledges since his election in 2017. When news of Costa's alleged crime broke, around 200 people took ..

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