“Houston, we have a problem.” Geostationary satellite communications, ubiquitous in our daily lives, naturally seem to need to be very secure. However, a team of researchers from the Universities of San Diego and Maryland reveal that almost half of these flows are not encrypted, thus exposing a wide range of communications, data from individuals, companies and even public administrations, to possible interception… using simple satellite dishes.
Wired magazine reports that using basic satellite equipment installed on the roof of a university, researchers carried out a vast collection of signals accessible in the California sky for three years. Their findings are alarming: they were able to intercept calls and text messages from T-Mobile customers, WiFi traffic from airplane passengers, as well as information from critical infrastructure, energy companies and even police departments and the US or Mexican military, revealing sensitive operations.
What is most surprising is the almost general absence of encryption on these links: the operators seem to have counted on the belief that no one would go and scan the hundreds of satellites in orbit. According to Professor Aaron Schulman, this “security through darkness” was all the more impactful as the entire ecosystem depends on these flows for highly sensitive needs without any serious protection being guaranteed.
A global security issue
The ease of access to this data calls into question the overall security of the satellite ecosystem. All it takes is a fairly simple receiving station to pick up signals from cell towers, potentially leaving anyone with the right equipment to absorb that data in the process.
The investigation also revealed the direct exposure of strategic communications belonging to the armed forces and police, both US and Mexican. The researchers received, through their satellite antenna, unsecured data on military ships, helicopters, as well as transmissions from command centers related to the location, maintenance of equipment or sensitive operations, such as monitoring anti-drug missions.
Armed groups or drug cartels, in open war against the Mexican authorities, could, if they have trained personnel, intercept police or army communications. Economic technical means would not constitute an obstacle, because these organizations have considerable financial resources.
This systemic vulnerability demonstrates that the reality of mass spying on military satellite communications is no longer science fiction, but a threat that the cybersecurity sector and defense agencies take very seriously. Although the use of satellites grows, this vulnerability persists and requires “urgent technological and political awareness to ensure space communications” on a global scale.
Source: BFM TV
