A security researcher is being applauded for his great efforts in breaking into Starlink’s latest satellite known to provide foolproof internet service.
Lennert Wouters says he made use of a simple device that was worth a mere $25 to create the device that managed to do the job brilliantly and without any hassle.
And while congratulations are in store for the security researcher, we can’t help but imagine how embarrassing of an affair the entire situation has turned out to be for Starlink.
Wouters has since gone public about where the great lackings are present in the satellite system as many incorrectly felt it was foolproof. For starters, great emphasis was placed on the widespread availability of its user terminals which really puts so many of its devices at risk.
This means hardware hackers have a better chance to gain easy access to their targets while opening the door to free exploration of their entire network. Wouters shed light on the matter through a recently released press release.
As of now, SpaceX is yet to respond to the plenty of requests being made by notable media agencies.
Meanwhile, a little bit about who Wouters is and why he managed to achieve instant success was also made public.
He is a researcher hailing from a reputed university in Belgium called KU Leuven. The confessions about the successful hacking attempt were made at the recent hacking conference that took place in Las Vegas last Friday.
Then on Wednesday, we saw him proving to so many attendees what his device looked like for the first time. At an instant glance, you can see that it’s a modchip which many also commonly call a homemade circuit board.
And to assemble the device, well, there were no problems there as all the materials were easily found on hardware store shelves at the most reasonable price tags. Moreover, they also had the inert ability to directly attack a Starlink Dish, as revealed recently by the publication.
Meanwhile, other details entailed how the device can give hackers easy access by allowing them to run codes on the satellite and gain access to the whole network.
This means those parts of the device that couldn’t be accessed in the past are now easily available to hack into. And if that isn’t enough help, this security researcher has big plans to make the device available to the public through GitHub.
And in case you happen to be wondering why anyone in their crazy mind would even think about attempting something like this, well, the answer is simple.
He performed it as a part of a new experiment for the SpaceX initiative that is designed to pay those researchers who help them in finding major vulnerabilities or bugs across their device systems.
This is why they’re busy congratulating him and updating the rest of the world on how they plan to upgrade the product to beat out such shortcomings.
Wouters was recently caught mentioning to Wired how the problem with Starlink’s device will continue to pop up with time until and unless SpaceX is seen making a new version for the terminal’s main chip.
Believe it or not, this experiment really has some worried as the flaws could potentially end up being a huge issue related to international security.
This past year, we even saw armed forces belonging to Ukraine make use of the company’s terminals, moments after Russia hacked into its previous satellite. Then on Monday, we got the news that American forces were now making moves to utilize Starlink as well.
Hence, with a user base expanding as we speak, these issues really need to be handled before it’s too late.
Photo: Starlink.com
Read next: Security Researcher Raises Alarm After Detecting Possible Threat To macOS Version Of Zoom
Lennert Wouters says he made use of a simple device that was worth a mere $25 to create the device that managed to do the job brilliantly and without any hassle.
And while congratulations are in store for the security researcher, we can’t help but imagine how embarrassing of an affair the entire situation has turned out to be for Starlink.
Wouters has since gone public about where the great lackings are present in the satellite system as many incorrectly felt it was foolproof. For starters, great emphasis was placed on the widespread availability of its user terminals which really puts so many of its devices at risk.
This means hardware hackers have a better chance to gain easy access to their targets while opening the door to free exploration of their entire network. Wouters shed light on the matter through a recently released press release.
As of now, SpaceX is yet to respond to the plenty of requests being made by notable media agencies.
Meanwhile, a little bit about who Wouters is and why he managed to achieve instant success was also made public.
He is a researcher hailing from a reputed university in Belgium called KU Leuven. The confessions about the successful hacking attempt were made at the recent hacking conference that took place in Las Vegas last Friday.
Then on Wednesday, we saw him proving to so many attendees what his device looked like for the first time. At an instant glance, you can see that it’s a modchip which many also commonly call a homemade circuit board.
And to assemble the device, well, there were no problems there as all the materials were easily found on hardware store shelves at the most reasonable price tags. Moreover, they also had the inert ability to directly attack a Starlink Dish, as revealed recently by the publication.
Meanwhile, other details entailed how the device can give hackers easy access by allowing them to run codes on the satellite and gain access to the whole network.
This means those parts of the device that couldn’t be accessed in the past are now easily available to hack into. And if that isn’t enough help, this security researcher has big plans to make the device available to the public through GitHub.
And in case you happen to be wondering why anyone in their crazy mind would even think about attempting something like this, well, the answer is simple.
He performed it as a part of a new experiment for the SpaceX initiative that is designed to pay those researchers who help them in finding major vulnerabilities or bugs across their device systems.
This is why they’re busy congratulating him and updating the rest of the world on how they plan to upgrade the product to beat out such shortcomings.
Wouters was recently caught mentioning to Wired how the problem with Starlink’s device will continue to pop up with time until and unless SpaceX is seen making a new version for the terminal’s main chip.
Believe it or not, this experiment really has some worried as the flaws could potentially end up being a huge issue related to international security.
This past year, we even saw armed forces belonging to Ukraine make use of the company’s terminals, moments after Russia hacked into its previous satellite. Then on Monday, we got the news that American forces were now making moves to utilize Starlink as well.
Hence, with a user base expanding as we speak, these issues really need to be handled before it’s too late.
Photo: Starlink.com
Read next: Security Researcher Raises Alarm After Detecting Possible Threat To macOS Version Of Zoom
