Israeli Ad Firm Accused of Aiding Global Espionage
Translated & summarized from Mako by baba
Two cybersecurity research groups have accused Israeli advertising company Discover-Tech of exploiting digital ad systems for global user tracking and aiding spyware distribution. The researchers linked the company to the Israeli firm Candiru and a breach of 45 Al Jazeera computers. Google and Comcast have since blocked Discover-Tech from their platforms due to policy violations. The company's operations potentially exposed hundreds of millions of users worldwide.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Israeli ad firm Discover-Tech is accused of facilitating global user tracking and spyware distribution.
- Researchers linked Discover-Tech to the Israeli cyber firm Candiru and a breach of 45 Al Jazeera computers.
- Google and Comcast have blocked Discover-Tech from their advertising platforms due to policy violations.
- The company's advertising infrastructure allegedly reached over 120,000 websites and 75,000 apps globally.
- Hundreds of millions of people may have been exposed to Discover-Tech's tracking activities, according to estimates.
Israeli digital advertising company Discover-Tech is facing serious allegations of facilitating user tracking and espionage activities. Two cybersecurity research groups claim the company exploited digital advertising systems to monitor internet users worldwide and assist in the distribution of spyware, according to a Reuters report. The researchers link Discover-Tech's operations to the Israeli offensive cyber firm Candiru and a breach of 45 computers belonging to Al Jazeera.
These accusations stem from coordinated reports by Citizen Lab, a research institute at the University of Toronto, and Confiant, a US-based cybersecurity firm. Their findings suggest that Discover-Tech, established in 2020 and led by CEO Dekel Boni, provided Israeli spyware companies, including Candiru, access to advertising systems of major platforms like Google, Comcast, and Russia's Yandex.
One significant finding connects Discover-Tech's infrastructure to the distribution of Candiru's spyware, which researchers believe was used to breach 45 Windows computers at Qatar's Al Jazeera network between 2024 and 2025. Al Jazeera did not respond to Reuters' request for comment. The researchers noted that the advertisements linked to Candiru represented a small fraction of Discover-Tech's overall ad distribution.
Discover-Tech's operations, described as distributing at least 10 million ads daily, highlight how commercial advertising systems can be misused for surveillance. Citizen Lab reported that the company's ads reached over 120,000 websites and approximately 75,000 apps globally. Confiant co-founder Jerome Dengu estimated that hundreds of millions of people could have been exposed to the company's activities.
Discover-Tech's ads were also detected on sensitive networks, including those of the Pentagon, the International Atomic Energy Agency, and the International Criminal Court, as well as the UN and NATO. However, their presence on these networks does not necessarily indicate a breach. Google and Comcast have blocked Discover-Tech from their advertising platforms due to policy violations, and the European Digital Advertising Association has suspended the company.
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