Israeli ad company tracked Starlink users in over 100 countries
What's the story
A recent investigation by cybersecurity experts at TrendAI, a unit of Tokyo-based cybersecurity company Trend Micro, has revealed that an Israeli ad tech firm may have been targeting SpaceX's Starlink users. As per Reuters, the firm in question, Discover-Tech, is said to be one of the top providers of digital ads on the Starlink service. The researchers believe these ads could have been used for geolocation or surveillance purposes.
Ad auction strategy
Discover-Tech's aggressive bidding strategy raises concerns
The investigation found that Discover-Tech had become a major player in the global ad auction market for Starlink users.
The company was the top bidder on Starlink traffic across more than 100 countries, even those where Starlink is banned or restricted.
This aggressive bidding strategy has raised concerns about its potential use for tracking and monitoring users of SpaceX's satellite internet service.
Report details
Unnamed 'ad tech entity' in TrendAI report
On October 15, TrendAI published a report detailing the targeting of Starlink users by an unnamed "ad tech entity."
The researchers used data from TrendAI's telemetry to draw their conclusions.
However, they did not name the company responsible for this activity, instead referring to it as "Shadow-Earth-79."
This was later revealed to Reuters by six sources familiar with the matter to be Discover-Tech.
Ad manipulation
Other organizations have flagged Discover-Tech for similar abuses
Canadian cyber watchdog Citizen Lab and New York-based advertising technology firm Confiant have also flagged Discover-Tech for abusing the ad bidding process.
They claim the Israeli company has been using this process to leak data about internet users back to itself.
Over time, this leaked data can be collected and combined with other information to identify users, track their online activity, and potentially target them with surveillance software.
Ad exposure
Major companies have cut ties with Discover-Tech
The controversial ads from Discover-Tech have reportedly been displayed on dozens of sensitive networks belonging to media organizations, governments, and tech firms.
In light of these findings, Google, Comcast, and other companies have removed Discover-Tech from their ad platforms.
At least one major US tech company and one international organization are said to be investigating whether Discover-Tech's ads targeted their employees.
Suspicious activity
TrendAI report details suspicious bidding patterns
TrendAI's report highlighted suspicious bidding patterns that indicated Shadow-Earth-79 was running "targeting and tracking infrastructure rather than a commercial advertising operation."
The report noted an "obvious skew" toward buying ads aimed at Starlink users.
It also revealed that Shadow-Earth-79 was the top buyer of ads in Syria, Libya, Yemen, and South Sudan, and the second-largest ad buyer in Afghanistan despite low demand for legitimate Western advertising in these regions.