Discover-Tech faces scrutiny after an Israeli firm used its online ads to conduct extensive surveillance on millions. The company has been sanctioned by Google and IAB Europe amid the spyware revelations.
Researchers at Citizen Lab and security firm Confiant have published evidence that Israeli ad-tech firm Discover-Tech has been using its platform, Controlium, to help spyware makers including Candiru target and in some cases infect devices via online advertisements. The ads appeared on hundreds of thousands of sites and apps and directed millions of devices to servers tied to Candiru; researchers say 45 Windows machines at Al Jazeera were compromised in 2024–25.