Discover-Tech

Citizen Lab's October 15, 2026 'Exposing AdFection' report found that Israeli ad-tech company Discover-Tech operates a platform called Controlium that de-anonymizes and fingerprints users via mobile advertising identifiers, browser identifiers, and IP addresses, then delivers 'controlled ads' capable of zero-click infection -- devices are compromised automatically when the ad is displayed, with no user interaction required. Citizen Lab traced a malware sample recovered from a compromised Al Jazeera device through a documented infection chain: contact with Discover-Tech ad infrastructure, then a Candiru validator server, then a Candiru command-and-control server, matching the attack signature of Candiru (rebranded as 'Integrity Labs' after its 2025 acquisition by Integrity Partners). At least 45 Al Jazeera devices were infected between 2024 and 2025. Discover-Tech-served ads carrying this capability also reached networks in Austria, Denmark, France, Mexico, Israel, Italy, Norway and Sweden, including government ministries, security agencies, NATO and the UN, though no client or government customer was publicly named as having ordered the specific attacks. Al Jazeera called the targeting 'an attack on press freedom and on the public's right to know'; neither Discover-Tech nor Candiru/Integrity Labs responded to requests for comment.