Satellites Are Leaking the World's Secrets: Calls, Texts, Military and Corporate Data (wired.com) 21
Researchers at UC San Diego and the University of Maryland have found that roughly half of geostationary satellite signals transmit sensitive data without encryption. The team spent three years using an $800 satellite receiver on a university rooftop in San Diego to intercept communications from satellites visible from their location. They collected phone calls and text messages from more than 2,700 T-Mobile users in just nine hours of recording.
The researchers also obtained data from airline passengers using in-flight Wi-Fi, communications from electric utilities and offshore oil and gas platforms, and US and Mexican military communications that revealed personnel locations and equipment details. The exposed data resulted from telecommunications companies using satellites to relay signals from remote cell towers to their core networks.
The researchers examined only about 15% of global satellite transponder communications and presented their findings at an Association for Computing Machinery conference in Taiwan this week. Most companies warned by the researchers have encrypted their satellite transmissions, but some US critical infrastructure owners have not yet added encryption.
The researchers also obtained data from airline passengers using in-flight Wi-Fi, communications from electric utilities and offshore oil and gas platforms, and US and Mexican military communications that revealed personnel locations and equipment details. The exposed data resulted from telecommunications companies using satellites to relay signals from remote cell towers to their core networks.
The researchers examined only about 15% of global satellite transponder communications and presented their findings at an Association for Computing Machinery conference in Taiwan this week. Most companies warned by the researchers have encrypted their satellite transmissions, but some US critical infrastructure owners have not yet added encryption.
Geostationary satellite are hard to upgrade (Score:2)
Geostationary satellite are hard to upgrade since they are so far away and an upgrade might be required if the hardware on board does any kind of packet inspection which remains a question to me. Application level encryption (packet payloads) should still work although so maybe the satellites have nothing to do with it if applications using them don't bother to encrypt their payloads.
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Application level encryption (packet payloads) should still work although so maybe the satellites have nothing to do with it if applications using them don't bother to encrypt their payloads.
There should really be two levels of encryption. One level of encryption through the satellite provide and another level of encryption by the data sending, to protect their data from being seen by the satellite provider. This is a two fold mistake.
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Re: Geostationary satellite are hard to upgrade (Score:3)
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Application level encryption (packet payloads) should still work although so maybe the satellites have nothing to do with it if applications using them don't bother to encrypt their payloads.
There should really be two levels of encryption. One level of encryption through the satellite provide and another level of encryption by the data sending, to protect their data from being seen by the satellite provider. This is a two fold mistake.
Isn't this sort of like arguing that IP should have always-on encryption? Not everyone wants or needs encryption, and some may prioritize speed or power instead.
Re: Geostationary satellite are hard to upgrade (Score:3)
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Too far away? ;)
I don't think you know how these satellites work.
They have communication links. You don't have to send a technician up to the satellite to upgrade the software
"They collected phone calls and text messages from more than 2,700 T-Mobile users in just nine hours of recording.
The researchers also obtained data from airline passengers using in-flight Wi-Fi, communications from electric utilities and offshore oil and gas platforms, and US and Mexican military communications that revealed personnel
We get signal (Score:1, Offtopic)
Location specific? (Score:2)
UC San Diego
Oops AT&T Mexico left off encryption? Taking money from both the Mexican govt and cartels, while f'ing them both over? Meanwhile whereever else it was "accidentally" left off, was turned back on? Or is now at least
End to end (Score:4)
And that's why end-to-end encryption is the only sort which can be trusted by the ends. None of this "SSL added and removed here" stuff. But of course governments strongly discourage its use, and especially any way to make it easier to use, because they want to eavesdrop.
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Exactly. Because end-to-end is the only way to ensure it is done competently, or as the story indicates, done at all.
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Lack the discipline to implement any kind of key management
If you are sending data and don't know who you are sending it too (yes, this really happens)
If you don't know that you are sending the data or assume someone else is encrypting it and sending it for you
But there is a far far worse thing than not encrypting data. Not adding authentication to data that others will act on. Think of someone being able to pretend they are you to the bank and request the bank t
This is reminiscent (Score:5, Informative)
What complete morons transmit secrets ... (Score:2)
... without effective encryption? I mean some _basic_ skill is required to keep secrets. Looks like these people do not have it.
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Pete Hegseth