Citizen Lab: Discover-Tech ads enable zero-click spyware

Researchers at the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab said Israeli ad agency Discover-Tech used its Controlium platform to serve millions of ads that let zero-click spyware be installed on targets. Dozens of devices at Al Jazeera were allegedly compromised, with ads shown in Yemen, Brazil, Mexico and Czechia since 2024.

• Controlium harvests a user's identity and IP address when a benign ad is shown
• Infection requires no user interaction and happens within seconds
• Discover-Tech ads have been served in Yemen, Brazil, Mexico and Czechia since 2024
• Audiences included networks of US and European government entities, UN, Nato and IAEA