A new investigation published on 15 October by the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab has identified how the Israeli company Discover-Tech allegedly used targeted online advertisements to facilitate surveillance and deliver spyware to selected devices without requiring users to click on an advertisement or take any other action. The researchers describe this as the first publicly documented use of targeted advertising to deliver zero-click commercial spyware, a technique they call AdFection.
According to Citizen Lab, Discover-Tech operates a platform called Controlium, which connects digital advertising infrastructure with commercial surveillance technologies. The platform allows clients to identify and profile internet users through advertising identifiers, IP addresses and other device information, and to select particular devices for further surveillance or potential infection.
by Digital Watch Observatory – Citizen Lab uncovers use of online ads to deliver spyware
