Israeli Ad Firm Accused of Aiding Global Espionage
Translated & summarized from Globes by baba
Israeli digital advertising firm Discover-Tech is accused by researchers of operating an infrastructure that aided espionage by Israeli cyber companies. The company allegedly provided access to advertising systems of major tech firms, enabling spyware distribution that led to breaches, including at Al Jazeera. Google and Comcast have removed Discover-Tech from their platforms due to policy violations, while researchers estimate hundreds of millions may have been exposed to its tracking activities.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Israeli ad firm Discover-Tech is accused of facilitating espionage by providing access to advertising systems.
- Two research groups, Citizen Lab and Confiant, published coordinated reports detailing the alleged activities.
- The company allegedly enabled Israeli spyware firm Candiru to breach 45 Al Jazeera computers.
- Discover-Tech's advertising infrastructure reportedly reached over 120,000 websites and 75,000 apps globally.
- Sensitive networks including the Pentagon and NATO were exposed to Discover-Tech's ads.
- Google and Comcast have banned Discover-Tech for policy violations.
Israeli digital advertising company Discover-Tech is facing serious allegations of facilitating user tracking and espionage activities. According to a Reuters report, two cybersecurity research groups claim the company operated an extensive advertising infrastructure used to collect data on internet users worldwide. This infrastructure allegedly enabled Israeli offensive cyber companies to access users' devices.
The accusations are detailed in two coordinated research reports by Citizen Lab, a University of Toronto institute specializing in digital espionage, and Confiant, a US cybersecurity firm. The reports state that Discover-Tech, founded in 2020 and led by Dekel Boni, provided Israeli spyware firms, including Candiru, access to advertising systems of major companies like Google, Comcast, and Russia's Yandex.
One key finding links Discover-Tech's operations to Candiru, an Israeli spyware developer blacklisted by the US Department of Commerce in 2021. Citizen Lab alleges Discover-Tech's ad infrastructure was used to distribute Candiru's spyware, which was employed to breach 45 Windows computers belonging to Qatar's Al Jazeera network between 2024 and 2025. Researchers confirmed these breaches using network traffic data provided by Al Jazeera, though the motive and instigator of the attacks remain undetermined.
Discover-Tech's operations, as described in the research, highlight the potential misuse of commercial advertising systems for surveillance. The company allegedly served over 10 million ads daily, reaching more than 120,000 websites and 75,000 apps globally. While some ads were for routine products, researchers claim they were also used to identify users, gather information on their online activities, and potentially obtain their phone numbers. Confiant co-founder Jerome Dangu estimated that hundreds of millions of people could have been exposed.
Furthermore, ads linked to Discover-Tech appeared on computer networks of sensitive organizations, including the Pentagon, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the International Criminal Court, the UN, NATO, and the European Commission. While this exposure does not necessarily indicate a breach, the Al Jazeera case presented evidence of actual intrusions. Google and Comcast have since removed Discover-Tech from their advertising platforms due to policy violations, and the European Digital Advertising Association has suspended the company.
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