Discover-Tech's Use of Online Ads for Global Spy Operations
An investigation has uncovered that the Israeli ad tech company Discover-Tech utilized online advertising infrastructure to track targets and facilitate the delivery of spyware to numerous devices, including those belonging to staff at Al Jazeera. This revelation comes from research conducted by Citizen Lab, a Canadian cybersecurity watchdog, and Confiant, a New York-based ad security firm.
According to the findings, Discover-Tech employed a vast network of online advertisements to identify potential targets, monitor their activities, and compromise their devices. Confiant noted that the operation demonstrated exceptional technical sophistication, robust anti-interception measures, and precise micro-targeting capabilities.
The spyware attacks, which operated without visible pop-ups or suspicious links, have been condemned by Al Jazeera as an assault on press freedom. The network has called for accountability for those responsible for these attacks.
The investigation also linked Discover-Tech's activities to Candiru, an Israeli spyware developer that has been blacklisted by the United States and rebranded as Integrity Labs, as well as to Intelos, another Israeli surveillance technology provider. These companies allegedly exploited advertising inventory on major platforms, including Google and Yandex, to track targets and compromise consumer devices.
Innovative Surveillance Through Ad Technology
Discover-Tech utilized a system known as Controlium to transform routine ad auctions into a surveillance tool. Over a four-month period, the company served ads across nearly 200,000 websites and mobile applications on both Android and iOS devices in various countries, generating approximately 10 million ad impressions daily. This operation involved harvesting device fingerprints, IP addresses, authentication tokens, cookies, and other personal data, often without the necessary consent as required under EU privacy regulations.
Filed & Cleared
Citizen Lab identified a group associated with Discover-Tech, referred to as Dark Cartographer, which allegedly exploited vulnerabilities within mobile carriers to match advertising IDs with phone numbers, enabling large-scale tracking of subscribers. Geographic data indicated significant spikes in traffic, suggesting targeted intelligence-gathering operations rather than typical commercial advertising, with Palestine being the most heavily targeted region.
The campaign's sophistication was highlighted by Confiant, which pointed to its anti-interception measures and precise targeting capabilities. Citizen Lab's findings represent the first public technical evidence that spyware can be delivered through online advertisements without any user interaction, a method termed "AdFection."
