Israeli firm accused of delivering spyware through online advertisements:Malware can enter devices without a click; access to UN and NATO networks

An investigation by the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab has revealed attempts to deliver spyware- a type of software-to mobile phones and computers through advertisements from Israeli company Discover Tech. Users did not even need to click on the advertisements. The investigation found records of such advertisements on more than 1.20 lakh websites and over 75,000 apps.
The findings also revealed that the advertisements reached the networks of the United Nations (UN) and NATO. The records also included apps used in India, such as Truecaller, MX Player and Ludo Star. Attempt to collect mobile numbers as well The investigation also uncovered another group called ‘Dark Cartographer’. Through advertisements, the group was trying to identify people’s mobile numbers in more than 30 countries. Bhaskar Analysis: Understand how the spying was carried out in 6 points 1. How were targets selected? The hackers tried to gain access to phones and computers through ordinary advertisements. Users did not have to click on the advertisements for this. In some cases, the code could reach a device even without the advertisement appearing on the screen. 2. How were devices identified? Code linked to the advertisements was used to try to determine which person was using which app or website. Information linked to the device was also collected. 3. How did the spyware reach devices? Based on the information collected earlier, selected devices were targeted. The spyware was reportedly delivered to those devices through advertisements. Users were unaware of it. 4. How large-scale was the attempt? According to the investigation, Discover Tech attempted to display advertisements in 161 countries. Records of more than 36.4 lakh potential users were found on one of the company’s servers between January and June 2026. The system was set up to deliver code to these users’ devices. Investigators said the network could be even larger than this. 5. Why did the attacks go undetected? The advertisements appeared normal, and the same code was not sent to every user. Since only selected devices were targeted, detecting the activity could have been difficult. 6. What action did Google take? According to the report, Discover Tech had been on Google’s list of certified advertising companies since 2020. Following Citizen Lab’s revelations, Google removed the company from the list. These figures relate to advertising records. They do not represent the number of devices directly hacked or users targeted by spyware. Advertisements reached the BBC, New York Times and defence agencies The investigation found records of suspicious advertisements appearing on websites including the BBC, the New York Times, Fox News, CBC and Yahoo. In addition, the advertisements reached the networks of the US Department of Defence, the Swedish Armed Forces and the Norwegian police. Such advertisements also appeared on the networks of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the International Criminal Court. The networks of government offices in several countries and organisations monitoring elections were also targeted.