Key facts
- Discover-Tech allegedly used ad bidding to target Starlink users for surveillance.
- TrendAI identified Discover-Tech as a top ad bidder in conflict zones like Syria, Yemen, and South Sudan.
- Citizen Lab and Confiant also accused Discover-Tech of abusing ad bidding to de-anonymize users.
- Google and Comcast removed Discover-Tech from their ad platforms.
Researchers at Trend Micro's TrendAI unit found that an Israeli ad tech company, Discover-Tech, was heavily targeting users of SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service, likely for spying purposes. The company was reportedly a leading bidder for ads shown to Starlink users, potentially to geolocate or surveil them. TrendAI identified Discover-Tech as the top bidder for Starlink traffic in over 100 countries, including several where Starlink was banned or restricted. The activity was codenamed 'Shadow-Earth-79' in TrendAI's report, which did not name the company due to legal concerns. Citizen Lab and Confiant also identified Discover-Tech for abusing the ad bidding process to leak user data, leading Google and Comcast to remove the company from their ad platforms.