Citizen Lab reveals spyware infecting phones via targeted ads

Researchers at the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab documented an "AdFection" campaign in which Israeli-registered ad firm Discover-Tech allegedly delivered Candiru spyware to devices with no user interaction. In 2024–2025, 45 Al Jazeera devices were targeted; Google and IAB Europe have since blocked Discover-Tech.

• 45 Al Jazeera devices hit by zero-click ad attacks in 2024–2025
• Discover-Tech ads appeared in 70,000 apps and 120,000 websites
• Google and IAB Europe blocked Discover-Tech after the investigation
• Millions of devices may have reached Candiru servers for profiling