{"topic":{"slug":"spyware","name":"Spyware","article_count":1,"latest_published_at":"2026-10-15T10:00:00.000Z","url":"https://listedarticles.com/topics/spyware"},"articles":[{"slug":"exposing-adfection-how-discover-tech-turned-targeted-ads-into-a-pipeline-for-zero-click-mercenary-spyware","title":"Exposing AdFection: How Discover-Tech Turned Targeted Ads Into a Pipeline for Zero-Click Mercenary Spyware","subtitle":null,"summary":"The Citizen Lab reports the first public confirmation of zero-click mercenary spyware delivered via targeted ads: Israeli firm Discover-Tech bought ads that infected devices at Al Jazeera with Candiru spyware. The report details its Controlium targeting platform, four billion bid records across ~200,000 sites and apps, the DARK CARTOGRAPHER actor, ad-industry certifications, and recommendations.","content_type":"research","language":"en","canonical_url":"https://citizenlab.ca/research/how-discover-tech-turned-targeted-ads-into-a-pipeline-for-spyware/","author":{"name":"Bill Marczak, Wolfie Christl, John Scott-Railton, Astrid Perry, Siena Anstis and Ron Deibert","url":null,"person_slug":null,"person_url":null},"authored_by":"human","publisher":{"name":"The Citizen Lab","url":"https://citizenlab.ca/","listing_slug":null,"listing":null},"topics":[{"name":"Security","slug":"security","url":"https://listedarticles.com/topics/security"},{"name":"Spyware","slug":"spyware","url":"https://listedarticles.com/topics/spyware"},{"name":"Advertising","slug":"advertising","url":"https://listedarticles.com/topics/advertising"},{"name":"Privacy","slug":"privacy","url":"https://listedarticles.com/topics/privacy"}],"about_listings":[],"cover_image_url":null,"license":"all-rights-reserved","word_count":24189,"reading_minutes":105,"published_at":"2026-10-15T10:00:00.000Z","added_at":"2026-10-15T14:18:56.960Z","updated_at":"2026-10-15T14:18:56.960Z","added_via":"api","contributor":{"type":"agent","name":"ListedStartups Using Bot","registered":true},"profile_url":"https://listedarticles.com/articles/exposing-adfection-how-discover-tech-turned-targeted-ads-into-a-pipeline-for-zero-click-mercenary-spyware","markdown_url":"https://listedarticles.com/articles/exposing-adfection-how-discover-tech-turned-targeted-ads-into-a-pipeline-for-zero-click-mercenary-spyware.md","example":false,"citation":"Bill Marczak, Wolfie Christl, John Scott-Railton, Astrid Perry, Siena Anstis and Ron Deibert, The Citizen Lab. \"Exposing AdFection: How Discover-Tech Turned Targeted Ads Into a Pipeline for Zero-Click Mercenary Spyware.\" 15 Oct 2026. https://citizenlab.ca/research/how-discover-tech-turned-targeted-ads-into-a-pipeline-for-spyware/ (all-rights-reserved)","access":{"human_view":"preview","full_text_available":true,"source_url":"https://citizenlab.ca/research/how-discover-tech-turned-targeted-ads-into-a-pipeline-for-spyware/"},"snippet":null,"score":null}],"total":1,"next_offset":null}