Sources: Trend Micro's TrendAI found Israeli adtech company Discover-Tech heavily targeted Starlink users in 100+ countries, likely to geolocate or surveil them

Starlink user IP addresses now reveal precise locations through adtech tracking, which was previously harder to achieve.

Trend Micro's TrendAI has identified an Israeli adtech company, Discover-Tech, as the source of widespread targeting campaigns affecting Starlink users across more than 100 countries. These campaigns are suspected to be aimed at geolocation or surveillance of Starlink's user base. The adtech firm reportedly used various methods to track and potentially exploit Starlink users' data. The full extent of the targeting and the specific motives behind it are still under investigation, but the scale suggests a significant operation. Trend Micro's findings highlight potential privacy and security risks for users of satellite internet services.

The discovery of Discover-Tech's extensive targeting of Starlink users suggests a growing sophistication in how adtech firms are attempting to gather granular location data, even from users on potentially less traceable networks. This move into satellite internet user tracking indicates a significant expansion of the surveillance economy, pushing the boundaries of what data can be harvested and for what purposes.

This event underscores a critical privacy challenge for users of emerging technologies like satellite internet, where traditional geolocation methods may not apply. The potential for widespread, unconsented tracking by adtech companies raises significant questions about user consent, data protection, and the evolving landscape of digital privacy in the face of advancing network technologies.