Discover-Tech Reportedly Linked to Extensive Ad Targeting of Starlink Users

Israeli company Discover-Tech has been identified by six people familiar with cybersecurity research as the firm behind an extensive operation targeting online advertising associated with Starlink users. The identification was disclosed on October 27. It connects the company to an entity that TrendAI Research had described publicly under the codename SHADOW-EARTH-79 without naming its operator. TrendAI, a unit of Tokyo-based Trend Micro, published its findings on October 15. Its report described the activity as “targeting and tracking infrastructure rather than a commercial advertising operation.” The researchers examined advertising auctions, where bidders can receive information about devices, including internet addresses and identifiers. The findings focused on patterns in the ad-bidding process and the information those auctions expose. Drawing on advertising data gathered through its telemetry, TrendAI described the entity as the leading bidder on Starlink traffic in more than 100 countries, including places where the service was banned or restricted. The report also identified it as the top advertising buyer in Syria, Libya, Yemen and South Sudan, and the second-largest buyer in Afghanistan. The six people familiar with the research said researchers had considered identifying Discover-Tech publicly; five said executives raised legal concerns. TrendAI emphasized cautious attribution and avoiding misleading labels, without directly explaining why the name was withheld. Discover-Tech and its chief executive did not respond to requests over two weeks, and SpaceX also did not respond. The identification remains attributed to those sources rather than a public naming by TrendAI.