Citizen Lab Traces Zero-Click Candiru Spyware Infections at Al Jazeera to Targeted Online Ads

Summary: Citizen Lab researchers said Thursday that Candiru spyware infected devices at Al Jazeera through ordinary online ads that ran hidden attack code the moment an ad loaded, with no click needed, targeting at least 45 devices in 2024 and 2025. The ads were placed by Discover-Tech, an Israeli company presenting as a digital advertising firm, whose ad code sent each device's advertising ID and internet address to its server, which returned attack code only for targeted devices.
Key Takeaway: Discover-Tech's ads carrying the hidden callback code appeared in about 75,000 phone apps and 120,000 websites, and its ads turned up on networks including NATO, the United Nations, EU bodies, and government offices in about two dozen countries - so the delivery channel reached far beyond the 45 targeted Al Jazeera devices.

Read the original at The Hacker News ↗