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Israeli Firm Used Ad Network to Deploy Spyware on Al Jazeera Staff
An Israeli company, Discover-Tech, used an internet advertising system to deploy spyware, infecting at least 45 computers belonging to Al Jazeera employees between 2024 and 2025. The method, dubbed "AdFection," allowed malware to activate simply by displaying ads.
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What happened
- 01Israeli firm Discover-Tech used internet ads to deploy spyware targeting Al Jazeera employees.
- 02At least 45 Al Jazeera computers were infected with Candiru spyware between 2024-2025.
- 03The "AdFection" method allowed spyware activation simply by displaying ads.
- 04Discover-Tech ads appeared on over 190,000 global websites and apps.
- 05Google and other ad platforms suspended Discover-Tech's access after the report.
- 06Candiru, now Integrity Labs, was previously sanctioned by the U.S. Commerce Department.
Discover-Tech's ads appeared on over 190,000 sites and apps globally, including government and NATO networks. Following the Citizen Lab report, Google and other ad platforms suspended Discover-Tech's access.
The coverage
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How it broke
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