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Citizen Lab has revealed spyware called AdFection that can infect phones and computers simply by displaying an advertisement, without the user clicking a link or opening a file. The organization says the technology was developed by Israeli company Discover-Tech and used to target journalists and employees at international institutions.
Citizen Lab uncovered a campaign it called AdFection that infected 45 devices at the Al Jazeera media organization during 2024 and 2025 through advertisements containing “zero-click” exploits to plant spyware. The findings indicate the exploitation of digital advertising infrastructure to target journalists and government and security organizations.