An investigation by Citizen Lab has confirmed that Israeli advertising technology firm Discover-Tech allegedly helped deploy spyware onto dozens of devices used by Al Jazeera journalists and other entities. The probe was initiated following an internal security assessment conducted by the broadcaster itself.

The Al Jazeera Media Network stated that it condemns the targeting of its employees' devices, pledging ongoing efforts to safeguard its personnel and digital infrastructure. The European-linked network claimed that targeting journalists constitutes a severe assault on press freedom, while demanding accountability for those behind the operation. *Self-Correction on tone:* The network allegedly utilized external cybersecurity experts to verify the breaches.

The deployed spyware originated from Candiru, an Israeli cyber-arms firm previously blacklisted by the US regime in 2021 over malicious cyber activities. Citizen Lab described the operation as the first-known instance of a "zero-click" targeted advertising exploit, where users are compromised merely by loading a malicious ad banner.

Researchers at the University of Toronto concluded that Discover-Tech purchased the compromised advertisements and routed devices to Candiru's malware infrastructure. Meanwhile, a separate report from New York-based Confiant indicated that similar ads allegedly appeared within critical networks utilized by the Pentagon, the International Atomic Energy Agency, and the International Criminal Court.

Source: www.aljazeera.com