The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, better known as the ABC, has said it was forced to wipe a "small number" of staff devices infected by spyware, as part of a broader campaign first revealed by Canadian researchers at Citizen Lab.
Israeli ad-tech firm Discover-Tech is alleged to be behind the campaign, which is thought to have targeted Australian citizens and organisations, including the ABC.
“Discover-Tech appears to work with multiple mercenary spyware, hacking, and advertising vendors, connecting the spyware industry to the online advertising ecosystem,” Citizen Lab said in an October 15 report.
“As we detail in this report, Discover-Tech ads are used to infect and profile on behalf of mercenary spyware vendor Candiru.”
While there is evidence that, in some cases, the spyware infection was used for further compromise, the ABC has said they found “no evidence of a resulting compromise," according to a spokesperson quoted by the ABC’s Cam Wilson.
"Our review found that ads from this network were shown on a small number of ABC devices. We have found no evidence that any staff member has been identified or tracked," the spokesperson said.
"For the small number of ABC devices identified, we have found no signs of compromise, and are wiping any still in service as a precaution. We take the privacy of staff and the protection of journalists' sources seriously."
Citizen Lab uncovered malicious ad impressions in several “geographically linked clusters” around the world, particularly in NATO countries. Australia, however, was not left out.
“The ad impression data also reveal a substantial cluster of impressions in Australia, including on government and private-sector networks associated with critical infrastructure sectors like grid and power companies, as well as networks associated with universities and research centres, including entities working on nuclear research, like the Australian Synchrotron, and the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation,” Citizen Lab said.
Citizen Lab said Discover-Tech’s Controlium platform enables surveillance firms to identify and profile internet users through seemingly legitimate online ads. The company then sells de-anonymised tracking data to malicious actors.
Selected targets can subsequently be served malicious code designed to exploit device vulnerabilities and install spyware. The technique – called AdFection by Citizen Lab – does not require any user interaction.
Citizen Lab is not aware of who Discover-Lab or Candiru are acting on behalf of.
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