Key facts
- Discover-Tech's ad network was used to track users and aid in device hacking.
- Malicious ads appeared on over 120,000 websites and 75,000 apps.
- Some ads delivered spyware from Candiru, a US-blacklisted firm.
- Discover-Tech was pumping out at least 10 million ads daily.
- Sensitive networks, including the Pentagon and IAEA, were targeted.
An Israeli digital advertising agency, Discover-Tech, operated a vast spy network using online ads to track users and aid in device hacking, researchers reported on Thursday. The operation weaponized legitimate online ad systems for espionage, allowing spyware manufacturers to connect to millions of devices and identify, track and target victims. The technique exploits real-time bidding to identify and potentially infect devices without user interaction, a method known as "zero-click" infections. Discover-Tech's ads appeared across nearly 200,000 websites and mobile apps in dozens of countries over four months, including institutional sites of NATO, the United Nations, the European Parliament, European Commission and Council of the EU. Researchers found that 45 devices belonging to journalists and staff at the Al Jazeera media network were targeted and some infected with Israeli-made spyware known as Candiru, which is linked to Discover-Tech's Controlium platform.