Israeli spy firm accused of surveilling Starlink users in 100+ countries

An alleged Israeli spy firm, Discover-Tech, has been accused of surveilling Starlink users across over 100 countries by serving malicious ads that harvest data without requiring clicks, according to Trend Micro's TrendAI research. The ads exploited the ad bidding process to de-anonymize users and enable further surveillance, with Discover-Tech identified as the top bidder on Starlink traffic, including in sanctioned or conflict zones like Syria and Libya. The firm was previously linked to targeting Al Jazeera journalists. Starlink's satellite routing makes it a tool for circumventing internet restrictions, but also a target for tracking. Google, Comcast, and other companies have since removed Discover-Tech from their ad platforms.