Spyware vendors found a way to make targeted ads even worse

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  "signal_type": "news",
  "signal_subtype": "ends_partnership_with",
  "detected_at": "2026-10-15T14:31:27+00:00",
  "company": {
    "name": "Google",
    "domain": "google.com"
  },
  "data": {
    "url": "https://www.theregister.com/security/2026/10/15/spyware-vendors-found-a-way-to-make-targeted-ads-even-worse/5303334",
    "title": "Spyware vendors found a way to make targeted ads even worse",
    "excerpt": "security Israeli adtech outfit allegedly helped spyware vendors infect phones while enjoying Google's seal of approval The online advertising industry has found a new way to make itself even more unpopular, with one adtech outfit accused of helping spyware vendors infect people's phones without them even clicking an ad. Researchers at Citizen Lab say they've uncovered the first publicly confirmed case of a zero-click mercenary spyware attack being delivered through targeted online ads, with devices at Al Jazeera among those infected. The technique, dubbed \"AdFection,\" turns advertising networks into a spyware delivery system. Simply opening a website or app can be enough to trigger the attack, with no suspicious links or downloads involved. Israeli adtech firm Discover-Tech is allegedly behind the operation, according to researchers at Citizen Lab, which says the company acts as a middleman between the online advertising industry and multiple spyware and hacking vendors. \"We present technical evidence that the Israel-based company Discover-Tech, while purporting to be a legitimate advertising company, appears to be a front for large-scale ad espionage abuse,\" the researchers wrote. “In fact, it appears that serving as this bridge is Discover-Tech’s primary purpose.\" Discover-Tech’s Controlium platform exploits the real-time bidding system that decides which ads appear on...",
    "summary": "Google terminated Discover-Tech's access to its advertising exchanges and removed it from its approved vendor lists following spyware delivery findings.",
    "planning": false,
    "image_url": "https://image.theregister.com/255186.jpg?imageId=255186&x=0&y=0&cropw=100&croph=100&panox=0&panoy=0&panow=100&panoh=100&width=1200&height=683",
    "confidence": 0.95,
    "published_at": "2026-10-15T14:31:27Z",
    "article_sentence": "Google has since terminated Discover-Tech's access to its advertising exchanges and removed it from its approved vendor lists."
  }
}

curl https://signals.autobound.ai/v1/signals/42b6ff1c-7780-5a55-5922-5cccf961f2cc \
  -H "X-API-KEY: $AUTOBOUND_API_KEY"

curl -X POST https://signals.autobound.ai/v1/companies/enrich \
  -H "X-API-KEY: $AUTOBOUND_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"domain":"google.com","limit":20}'