Satellites are leaking your data worse than coffee shop WiFi: Researchers

Researchers were able to read text messages and even traffic for military systems and infrastructure with just a few hundred dollars’ worth of equipment.

Geosynchronous (GEO) satellites, which send internet and phone data to places where regular cables can’t reach, are broadcasting sensitive data that anyone with about $600 worth of equipment can intercept, a team of researchers has found. 

A team of six academics from the University of Maryland and the University of California stated in a paper published on Monday that a “shockingly large amount of sensitive traffic” is being broadcast unencrypted across the satellite network in plaintext. 

This includes cellular communication encryption keys, citizens’ SMS and even traffic for military systems and critical infrastructure. 

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