For millions of people around the world, Starlink has been presented as the ultimate solution for freedom on the internet. A satellite internet network that can bypass telecommunications infrastructure collapses, military conflicts, blockades, and state restrictions. But a new revelation comes to completely overturn this image. According to an investigation by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, users of Starlink can be located, mapped, and in many cases identified within a few minutes, without requiring a breach of the system encryption or access to the content of their communications. The revelation illuminates a new world of digital surveillance, where espionage is no longer based on intercepting conversations but on collecting and connecting data produced daily by mobile phones, applications, and the global digital advertising industry.
The illusion of anonymity
For years many believed that Starlink offers a level of protection that makes tracking users extremely difficult. The logic was simple: the network relies on thousands of low orbit satellites, communications are encrypted and do not pass through traditional telecommunications infrastructure used by intelligence services. However, the new reality proves to be very different. Modern intelligence services no longer need to read the content of a communication to know who is behind it. It is enough to know who connected, from where, with which device, which application they used, and what other digital traces they left behind. This transition from traditional surveillance to drawing conclusions constitutes perhaps the greatest revolution in the world of intelligence in recent decades.
The companies behind the system - The role of TargetTeam in Cyprus and Mossad
At the center of the investigation are two companies connected to Israel. The first is TargetTeam, based in Cyprus, which is managed by executives with prior service in Israeli intelligence services, such as Mossad. The company developed the Stargetz system, which according to the publication can monitor almost one million Starlink terminals worldwide and connect approximately 200,000 of them with specific persons, the Cradle explains in its publication. The second is Rayzone, a company founded in Israel and whose exports are supervised by the Israeli Ministry of Defense. Rayzone offers corresponding capabilities within the framework of broader intelligence packages aimed at state agencies and security services. The fact that the sales of the company are subject to state control shows that these specific technologies are considered of strategic importance and are treated almost like weapons systems.
The advertising market as an espionage mechanism
The most impressive element of the case is that the process is not based on some secret interception technology. Instead, it uses tools that operate daily before the eyes of millions of people. At the heart of the system lies the global digital advertising market. Every time a user opens an application or visits a website, a rapid auction of advertising space takes place. During this process, vast amounts of information are exchanged: geographical location, device characteristics, advertising identifiers, and other data. Companies active in the field of Advertising Intelligence (ADINT) collect and process this data, creating detailed user profiles. They then connect these elements with the use of specific networks, such as Starlink. Thus, even if no one knows exactly what a user is saying, they can know who they are, where they are, when they move, and with whom they connect.
From the mobile phone to target location
Advertising identifiers possessed by almost all smartphones play a decisive role in this process. The systems of Apple and Google assign unique numbers to each device, allowing advertising platforms to track user activity across different applications. When these identifiers are combined with location and time activity data, a complete picture of a person movements is created. The system does not need to break Starlink. It is enough to determine which mobile phones repeatedly connect to a specific terminal and correlate their data with other networks and applications. The identification is then made almost automatically. According to the investigation, in a demonstration that took place in Vienna, a live map was presented which was updated every six minutes and displayed Starlink terminals from Western Asia to the Indian Ocean. In one of the cases presented, a user who had activated an account with a Mexican phone number and was using Starlink in Pakistan was located and mapped within a few minutes, while his frequent movements toward Iran were also revealed.
From Starlink to the battlefields of the Middle East
The revelations acquire even greater significance when examined under the prism of modern conflicts in the Middle East. In recent years, Starlink has been used in war zones, in areas with destroyed telecommunications infrastructure, and also in environments where internet access is considered critical for the operation of military units, humanitarian organizations, journalists, and local communities. In Lebanon, in Gaza, in Syria, in Iraq, and in other areas of Western Asia, satellite internet is often presented as a safe alternative solution when conventional networks collapse or are put out of operation. However, the investigation by Haaretz suggests that Starlink may not constitute only a communication tool but also a source of valuable information for locating persons and networks. If a system can correlate a Starlink terminal with specific mobile devices, then it is theoretically possible to map movements, contacts, activity patterns, and geographical concentrations of users in real time.
Real-time surveillance
This acquires particular weight in areas where high intensity military operations are conducted. The identification of a terminal does not simply reveal the location of an internet connection. It can reveal the existence of a command center, an operations group, a transport network, a humanitarian mission, or even an entire community that depends on specific communication infrastructure. According to experts in the intelligence field, the real value of these systems is not found in reading messages but in building a complete map of human relations and activities. In a modern war environment, knowing who is where, when they move, and with whom they connect can prove equally important as access to the content of communications. This is also the reason why the Starlink case causes so much concern in the Middle East. It does not concern only the privacy of users but also the possibility of satellite internet being transformed, intentionally or not, into a link of a broader intelligence chain used for locating and evaluating targets in real time. Thus, the discussion around Starlink ceases to be a purely technological issue and transforms into an issue of national security, military power, and geopolitical influence in one of the most unstable regions of the planet.
From surveillance to target selection
The revelations acquire even greater weight when connected with modern military operations. ADINT systems do not constitute simply surveillance tools. They constitute the first stage of a broader chain of collection and processing of intelligence that can end even in the selection of military targets. The identification data are transferred to advanced analysis platforms, where they are combined with information from other sources. They are then used for confirming targets and making operational decisions. In recent years, publications by international media have referred to the use of artificial intelligence by Israel for analyzing vast volumes of data and creating target lists in real time. The new investigation shows that the identification of users through their digital footprint constitutes now a critical piece of this process.
The new reality of digital warfare
The Starlink case reveals something much larger than a technological capability. It shows that modern society has been transformed into a vast data network where every movement, every application, and every connection leaves behind traces that can be utilized by state and private entities. In this new world, anonymity becomes increasingly difficult and the concept of digital sovereignty acquires a completely different content. The revelation that users of a system such as Starlink can be located without a breach of communications shows that the battle of intelligence has passed to a new level. It is no longer about who listens to our conversations. It is about who can read the traces we leave behind daily and transform this data into a complete map of our life. And as it appears from the latest revelations, this technology constitutes no longer a science fiction scenario but a reality that is already used on the most sensitive geopolitical fronts of the planet.
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