Online ads weaponised to deliver ‘zero-click’ spyware, researchers say
Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto says an Israeli advertising company called Discover-Tech has been using online ads to silently deploy spyware on targeted devices, requiring no action from the user. Researchers believe dozens of devices at Al Jazeera were compromised through this method.
Why this matters: Zero-click means exactly that. You do not have to tap anything, download anything, or make any mistake. An ad loads, and your device is compromised. This is not a phishing problem with a user-error solution. Normal people cannot protect themselves from it. The ad ecosystem reaches everyone, and if it can be rented out to deliver spyware at scale, then the infrastructure that funds most of the internet is also a mass surveillance tool. That should change how seriously regulators treat ad-tech security.
Who should care: Cybersecurity · Privacy officers · Administrators
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