Citizen Lab and Confiant linked Israeli firm Discover-Tech to suspected surveillance through online advertising. Researchers said its ads appeared across nearly 200,000 websites and mobile apps. TrendAI separately identified related activity under the codename “SHADOW-EARTH-79.” The findings raise concerns about ad auctions being exploited to track users across sensitive networks, though ad impressions alone do not confirm spyware infections.
Israeli ad tech firm tied to suspected Starlink tracking effort, report claims — researchers say it outbid everyone for Starlink-linked ads in 100+ countries, including where the service is banned
In short
Joint findings from Citizen Lab and Confiant revealed that the company systematically outbid competitors to serve digital promotions to satellite internet users. These promotional placements appeared across roughly 200,000 mobile applications and websites worldwide. While the targeted ad impressions raise significant privacy concerns, analysts noted that the display of these ads does not confirm that devices were compromised by spyware.
Key points
- Digital ad auction systems can be exploited by commercial entities to monitor users on se…: Digital ad auction systems can be exploited by commercial entities to monitor users on sensitive internet networks.
- Ad placements targeted satellite connections even in geographical areas where the service…: Ad placements targeted satellite connections even in geographical areas where the service itself is legally banned.
- Receiving targeted ad impressions does not automatically verify that an end-user device w…: Receiving targeted ad impressions does not automatically verify that an end-user device was infected with spyware.