Citizen Lab finds mercenary spyware delivered via zero-click ads on iOS and Android
Citizen Lab researchers reported a campaign dubbed AdFection in which malicious ads containing zero-click exploits installed spyware on targeted phones without any user interaction. The group confirmed 45 infected devices at Al Jazeera during 2024 and 2025, and linked the ad delivery to Israeli company Discover-Tech, which brokers ad placements between advertisers and publishers.