Two Israeli companies manipulated online advertisements to
install surveillance software on dozens of computers at the Qatari
news organization Al Jazeera, researchers have found.
Candiru, which helps governments hack mobile phones, and ad-tech
firm Discover Tech used online advertising platforms to target and
infect 45 devices at Al Jazeera, according to a report published
Thursday by the University of Toronto’s digital watchdog group,
Citizen Lab. In 2024 and 2025, the Tel Aviv-based companies used
advertisements containing malicious code to implant the spyware,
which collected data off the machines, according to the
researchers.
Discover Tech has masqueraded as a legitimate advertising
company for years, serving ads through several major networks,
including one operated by Alphabet Inc.’s Google, according to the
report. The firm appeared on approved-vendor lists maintained by
Google and advertising industry association IAB Europe, it
said.
Discover Tech and Candiru did not immediately respond to
requests for comment. Candiru, which is also known as Integrity
Labs, was acquired in 2025 by the US investment fund Integrity
Partners, which also did not respond to requests for comment. Al
Jazeera did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In response to Citizen Lab’s findings, IAB Europe said in a
statement that it had suspended Discover Tech from its global
vendor list for violating its policies. A Google spokesperson said
it had confirmed Discover Tech was involved in the delivery of
spyware and blocked the company from its ad platforms for
“systematically violating our policies.”
Ad platforms such as those operated by Google allow advertisers
to gather information about people’s interests, location and
browsing habits to serve them with more relevant ads. These
networks span the globe and generate hundreds of billions of
dollars of revenue for their operators.
Other companies have previously repurposed online advertising
platforms as a means to collect data on people for government
surveillance, helping law enforcement and intelligence agencies
track down suspects. But the use of ads to deploy spyware and hack
phones and computers is a more recent and less understood
development.
“The way the online advertising ecosystem works today is a
security threat,” said Wolfie Christl, a senior researcher at
Citizen Lab. “For states, for the private sector, for civil society
– everyone.”
Cybersecurity firm Confiant, which specializes in analyzing
malicious advertisements, partnered with Citizen Lab on the
research and said in a report that Discover Tech was involved in
espionage.
Companies that sell spyware were likely turning to advertising
as a method of hacking devices because it’s increasingly difficult
to get people to click malicious links sent in text messages or
emails, said Jerome Dangu, Confiant’s chief technology officer and
co-founder.
“What we are seeing is the rise of ad-based surveillance,” Dangu
said.
According to Citizen Lab’s report, Discover Tech operates a
platform named Controlium, which uses advertisements to build
profiles about millions of people. This enables spyware companies,
including Candiru, to covertly hack individual targets by sending
them advertisements that appear benign to the user, but in fact
contain malicious code that silently infects devices without the
victim needing to click on any link, the report said.
In 2021, the US government sanctioned Candiru, accusing the
company of supplying to governments spyware that was used to target
government officials, businesspeople, academics, activists and
journalists.
Discover Tech’s website presents itself as an advertising
specialist, which can help clients “optimize campaigns and mobile
performance.” But the company also has links to the spyware
industry. Between 2020 and 2025, Israeli entrepreneur Eric Banoun
served on its board of directors, according to company records.
Banoun, who did not respond to a request for comment, previously
founded the government surveillance firms Circles and Senpai
Technologies.
Between March and June of this year, advertisements linked to
Discover Tech were shown on almost 200,000 unique websites and
inside Android and iOS applications in dozens of countries, Citizen
Lab found.
Discover Tech’s ads were served in sensitive networks, including
those of NATO, the European Parliament and the US Department of
Defense, according to the researchers. The company’s ads were also
identified inside networks associated with several major technology
companies, they said.
While finding Discover Tech’s ads in a network doesn’t
necessarily mean any staff devices have been hacked, it is a cause
for concern, according to Citizen Lab.
“Cybersecurity agencies, regulators, lawmakers in all regions of
the world must urgently step in and investigate,” said Christl.
This report is auto-generated from the Bloomberg news service.
AzerNEWS holds no responsibility for its content.
Click Here For The Original Source.
——————————————————–
