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| Science & Technology |
| Alleged Israeli spy company heavily targeted Starlink users, sources say |
| 2026-10-27 |
| [Reuters] Experts at a digital defense firm recently found that an Israeli ad tech company was heavily targeting users of Starlink's satellite internet service in a likely effort to spy on them, according to six people familiar with the matter. Researchers at TrendAI, a unit of Tokyo-based cybersecurity company Trend Micro, concluded the Israeli company Discover-Tech was one of the biggest sources of digital ads shown to users of SpaceX's Starlink service and that the ads were likely being used to geolocate or otherwise surveil them, according to the six people. The researchers, who drew on digital advertising data in TrendAI's telemetry for their conclusions, found that Discover-Tech had become one of the world’s leading bidders for ads aimed at Starlink users and that it was the No. 1 bidder on Starlink traffic in more than 100 countries, including several where Starlink itself was banned or restricted. Bidding refers to the complex auction system by which advertisers secure space inside people's browsers and apps. SpaceX did not respond to requests for comment. Discover-Tech and its chief executive did not respond to requests for comment over the past two weeks. TrendAI released a report, opens new tab on October 15 about the targeting of Starlink users but did not name Discover-Tech, instead saying the party responsible was “an ad tech entity” which it called “Shadow-Earth-79.” The six sources said Shadow-Earth-79 is TrendAI’s codename for Discover-Tech. TrendAI did not directly address questions about why its report did not identify Shadow-Earth-79 by name, saying in a statement that its approach to attribution, opens new tab was aimed at reducing the risk of mistakes and avoiding "hype-driven labels" or "unstable actor names that can mislead defenders, distort risk prioritization, and trigger inappropriate response actions." Finding ways to track Starlink users has become a cottage industry as governments around the world try to get a grip on the spread of satellite internet terminals. Because they route data through SpaceX-operated satellites rather than nationally regulated telecommunications firms, the terminals can sidestep local internet restrictions, communicate in hostile areas or coordinate action across battlefields. Starlink has become a particularly important resource in Ukraine, whose military relies on the service for frontline communications and directing drone strikes. In May, Israeli newspaper Haaretz and the website Intelligence Online separately reported that Israeli-owned businesses were pitching clients on ways to identify and track Starlink users. Haaretz said exploiting ad data appeared to play a key role in the process. |
| Posted by:Skidmark |
| #1 |
| Posted by: Remoteman 2026-10-27 13:41 |