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Israeli Ad Company Helped Spyware Firm Target Al Jazeera Online Ads Re Rcna602999

www.nbcnews.com • October 16, 2026

An Israeli ad company, DiscoverTech, has for years been secretly helping spyware developers place their hacking software on popular websites, researchers at Citizen Lab say, resulting in a cyberattack that targeted at least 45 devices at the news outlet Al Jazeera.

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This article is one source in a clustered incident — the cluster page carries the summary, timeline and every other outlet covering it.

Zero-Click Spyware Delivered via Targeted Ads: Citizen Lab Report On October 15, 2026, Citizen Lab revealed that the Israeli advertising firm Discover-Tech has been using targeted online ads to deliver zero-click spyware, dubbed 'AdFection', to devices without user interaction. This technique has reportedly infected at least 45 devices belonging to journalists at Al Jazeera between 2024 and 2025. The spyware, attributed to the Israeli company Candiru, operates by executing malicious code when an ad is displayed, allowing for covert surveillance. Discover-Tech's ads reached over 120,000 websites and 75,000 apps, potentially impacting hundreds of millions of users globally. Following the report, major platforms like Google and IAB Europe severed ties with Discover-Tech due to its systematic violations of advertising policies. The findings raise significant concerns about the security of the online advertising ecosystem and its exploitation for espionage purposes. 63 sources 78

Israeli Ad Company Helped Spyware Firm Target Al Jazeera Online Ads Re Rcna602999

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