Discover-Tech
Israeli ad-tech firm whose Controlium platform delivered Candiru spyware via ads
| Discover-Tech
| |
|---|---|
| Type | Private |
| Founded | 2020 |
| Founder(s) | Dekel Boni |
| Headquarters | Israel |
| Industry | Digital advertising / mercenary spyware facilitation (per Citizen Lab) |
Discover-Tech (Discover-Tech Ltd) is an Israeli company that presents itself as a digital advertising firm. In October 2026 Citizen Lab published a technical investigation concluding that Discover-Tech operated as a facilitator for mercenary spyware partners, and that its Controlium platform enabled partners to de-anonymise, fingerprint and automatically infect devices when an advertisement was rendered — a technique Citizen Lab called AdFection. The report provided the first public technical confirmation of zero-click mercenary spyware delivered via targeted ads, linking Discover-Tech ads to infections of devices at Al Jazeera with spyware from Candiru (rebranded as Integrity Labs). At least 45 Al Jazeera devices were targeted.[1]
Candiru already has a Powerbase profile; this page covers Discover-Tech as the delivery path. See also Candiru.
Citizen Lab, from Israeli company records, identifies Dekel Boni as initial director and later sole director/CEO, with a background in digital advertising. Eric Banoun, described by Haaretz as "one of the pioneers of offensive cyber in Israel," joined the board soon after founding in 2020 and remained until January 2025. Between 2020 and March 2026 shareholders included a BVI company Chaia Services Ltd that Haaretz linked to Sara Hamou, who managed the corporate network of the Intellexa spyware group.[1]
Controlium and partners
Controlium allows customers to target users by mobile advertising ID, cookie ID and/or IP address and to push "controlled ads." Citizen Lab linked Discover-Tech activity to Candiru/Integrity Labs, to Bindecy, and to ADINT firm Intelos. Analysis of nearly four billion exposed MyDSP bidding records showed Discover-Tech ads on almost 200,000 websites and apps over four months.[1]
Following disclosure, Google, IAB Europe, Beeswax, Vungle (Liftoff) and Eskimi took action to disconnect Discover-Tech from advertising ecosystems, according to Citizen Lab.[1]
See also
- Candiru
- Intelos
- Bindecy
- Intellexa
- NSO Group
- Cyber and tech firms founded by ex Unit 8200 or occupation forces veterans
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Bill Marczak et al., How Discover-Tech Turned Targeted Ads Into a Pipeline for Zero-Click Mercenary Spyware, Citizen Lab, 15 October 2026.