Starlink Users in 100+ Countries 'Targeted' by Ad-Tech Firm, Researchers Say

Starlink Users in 100+ Countries

Researchers say an Israeli advertising technology company, Discover-Tech, was the top bidder for online ads shown to users of SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service in more than 100 countries, in what researchers believe was tracking, not ordinary advertising. The findings come from TrendAI, the research unit of Japanese cybersecurity firm Trend Micro, which studied ad-bidding data and gave the mystery buyer the codename 'Shadow-Earth-79' in its October 15 report. Reuters, citing six people familiar with the matter, reported that the codename refers to Discover-Tech.

The pattern raised red flags because the bidding was heaviest where genuine Western advertising demand is almost zero. The buyer was the largest ad purchaser in Syria, Libya, Yemen and South Sudan, and the second-largest in Afghanistan, and it won an 'implausibly dominant share' of Starlink bids in Hungary, Israel, Egypt, Azerbaijan and Venezuela. In online ad auctions, bidding can expose a user's location, IP address and device details to the bidder, which researchers say can be used to identify people, follow their web use and set them up for surveillance software.

Citizen Lab and ad-security firm Confiant had already named Discover-Tech on October 15, saying it abused ad bidding to collect user data, with its ads appearing on dozens of sensitive networks. Google, Comcast and other platforms have since removed the company from their advertising systems. Neither SpaceX nor Discover-Tech responded to Reuters' requests for comment, and the researchers stress their conclusion is an assessment, not a proven fact.

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