Citizen Lab researchers have linked an Israeli company called Discover-Tech to spyware that was distributed through online advertising, according to a report the group published. The targets reportedly included journalists and staff at the Al Jazeera news network, as well as officials and employees at NATO, the European Commission, NVIDIA and Arm. Citizen Lab senior researcher Bill Marczak told The Financial Times that Discover-Tech used the advertising ecosystem to turn trusted websites and popular apps into a platform for delivering zero-click spyware.
The report describes Discover-Tech as presenting itself as a legitimate advertising business while acting as a bridge between ad vendors and the mercenary spyware industry. According to Citizen Lab, the company's software exploited the automated real-time bidding system that advertisers use to compete for ad placements, profiling and de-anonymizing users before targeting them with spyware. Malicious code was hidden inside ads that appeared ordinary, the report states.
Google, one of the major ad platforms the spyware operation used, has suspended Discover-Tech from its global vendor list. The company said it acted after a joint investigation with Citizen Lab and Confiant, stating that Discover-Tech was blocked from its ad platforms for systematically violating its policies. The suspension removes the firm's access to a major channel for reaching internet users in the United States and worldwide.
Citizen Lab found that Discover-Tech displayed 442 million ads across more than 120,000 websites, a group that included the BBC and the New York Times, along with mobile apps such as Duolingo, Badoo and Grindr. The ads appeared on devices used by militaries, governments, critical infrastructure operators and national cyber agencies. Researchers also found login records on Discover-Tech's site that included details belonging to employees of the spyware maker Candiru.
Marczak said in a blog post that the discovery is surely just the tip of the iceberg. He said people who might be targeted based on who they are or what they do should consider disabling ad tracking on their devices or blocking ads altogether. Discover-Tech and other participants in the scheme have not commented on the findings.
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