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Israeli Firms Used Ad Network for Covert Spyware Deployment, Report Finds
An Israeli company, Discover-Tech, used internet advertising to deploy spyware, infecting at least 45 Al Jazeera employee computers between 2024-2025, according to Citizen Lab. The "AdFection" method allowed infection without user interaction.
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What happened
- 01Israeli firms Discover-Tech and Candiru used ad networks to deploy spyware against Al Jazeera employees.
- 02At least 45 Al Jazeera computers were infected with spyware via "AdFection" between 2024-2025.
- 03The spyware could infect computers simply by displaying ads, without user interaction.
- 04Discover-Tech's ads appeared on over 120,000 websites and 70,000 apps globally.
- 05Google and IAB Europe have restricted Discover-Tech's access to advertising platforms.
- 06Candiru was previously sanctioned by the U.S. for developing spyware targeting activists and journalists.
Discover-Tech's ads appeared on over 120,000 websites and 70,000 apps globally. Google and IAB Europe have taken action against Discover-Tech following the report.
The coverage
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