Israeli spyware infiltrates Al Jazeera journalists' devices via ads
Citizen Lab linked the zero-click attack to Candiru, which has been blacklisted by the U.S. since 2021.
Several devices belonging to Al Jazeera journalists were infected with spyware through digital ads without any user click required. An investigation by Citizen Lab, based on an internal Al Jazeera review, found surveillance software made by Israeli company Candiru was planted on dozens of devices across the Doha, Qatar-based media network. On Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, Al Jazeera condemned the targeting of its reporters and called it an attack on press freedom. The findings said the malware could steal documents, cookies, bookmarks and passwords, record keystrokes, capture screenshots, and access microphone and webcam input. Candiru has been blacklisted by the U.S. government since 2021 for malicious cyber activity.