Israeli firm used online ads to run vast spy operation, researchers say

Israeli digital advertising agency Discover-Tech used a sprawling network of online ads to identify and track internet users and help hack their devices, Canadian cyber watchdog Citizen Lab and New York advertising security firm Confiant said on Thursday. Its services gave Israeli spyware firm Candiru and other surveillance companies access to ad platforms run by Google, Comcast, Yandex and others.The reports said the online advertising industry, already under scrutiny over privacy, could serve as a channel for extensive espionage. Discover-Tech's ads, often promoting ordinary products such as phones or earpods, reached more than 120,000 websites and 75,000 apps through its partnerships, Citizen Lab said.Users visiting sites or using apps carrying the malicious ads could be identified and tracked by Discover-Tech, which sometimes tried to extract phone numbers from smartphone users, researchers said. The ads only had to load for the surveillance to occur.