Israeli Spy Company Targets Starlink Users
Trend Micro researchers discovered that Israeli company Discover-Tech targets Starlink users via digital ads to track their locations and monitor them.
Translated by Qiyas from الجريدة — Original source
Sources familiar with the matter said that experts at a digital defense company recently discovered that an Israeli “advertising technology” company is heavily targeting users of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service, in a suspected attempt to spy on them.
The sources said that researchers at Trend Micro AI, a unit of Tokyo-based cybersecurity firm Trend Micro, concluded that Israeli company Discover-Tech is one of the largest sources of digital ads served to Starlink users, and that these ads are likely used to pinpoint their geographic locations or monitor them in other ways.
Relying on digital advertising data from Trend Micro AI’s remote data collection system, the researchers found that Discover-Tech has become one of the world’s largest bidders for ads targeted at Starlink users, ranking as the number-one bidder on Starlink network traffic in more than 100 countries, including several where Starlink itself has been banned or restricted. The term “bidding” refers to the complex auction system used by advertisers to secure ad space within users’ browsers and apps.
SpaceX did not respond to requests for comment. Discover-Tech and its chief executive also did not respond to requests for comment over the past two weeks.
Trend Micro AI issued a report on October 15 targeting Starlink users, but did not name Discover-Tech, instead referring to the responsible party as “an advertising technology specialist” dubbed “Shadow Earth-79.”
Trend Micro AI did not directly answer questions about why it did not explicitly name Shadow Earth-79 in its report. In a statement, it said its approach to attributing responsibility aims to reduce the risk of errors and avoid “paid-by-propaganda labels” or “unstable actor names that could mislead defenders, distort risk-priority rankings, and lead to inappropriate countermeasures.”
Finding ways to track Starlink users has become a new area of activity as governments around the world seek to control the spread of satellite internet stations. Because these stations route data through satellites operated by SpaceX rather than nationally regulated telecommunications companies, they can bypass local internet restrictions, connect in hostile areas, or coordinate operations across battlefields. Starlink has become a critical resource in Ukraine, where the military relies on the service for communications along front-line positions and for directing drone strikes.
Separately, in May, Israel’s Haaretz newspaper and the Intelligence Online website reported that Israeli-owned companies offer clients ways to identify and track Starlink users. Haaretz said that exploiting advertising data appears to play a key role in this process.
