Tech · 19 d ago
Researchers say an Israeli ad firm's online ads helped plant zero-click spyware
Installs without any click or download
Zero-click spyware
Citizen Lab, a research unit at the University of Toronto, says ads run by Israeli agency Discover-Tech let clients profile users and hack targets. The spyware needs no click from the victim and installs in seconds.
Devices compromised at one broadcaster
45 Windows devices
Citizen Lab says spyware from Candiru, a firm the US blacklisted in 2021, used those ads to compromise 45 Windows devices at a Qatari broadcaster between 2024 and 2025.
Networks where the ads appeared
- The United Nations
- NATO
- The European Commission
- The Pentagon
- The International Criminal Court
The ads reached more than 120,000 websites and 75,000 apps, Citizen Lab says, including networks of the UN, NATO and the European Commission. On sensitive networks, one analyst notes, only the profiling of users is confirmed, not infection.
Google says it removed Discover-Tech from its ad platforms for systematically violating its policies. IAB Europe suspended the firm, and Comcast's Beeswax took it off its platform.
For people at high risk
A cybersecurity lecturer says the risk is low for most people, as these attacks are costly and aimed at specific targets. For journalists and officials, he advises an ad blocker, switching off the phone's advertising ID and keeping everything updated.
