Hacking satellite internet connections is a lot easier than you'd think
Delivering internet connectivity from satellites orbiting the Earth is becoming an increasingly popular idea especially as Elon Musk continues to launch low-orbit satellites to build out his upcoming Starlink network.
Satellite internet connections are actually already being used today by workers on remote oil rigs, ships traversing international waters and by airlines in areas where broadband or cellular internet is not available. However, the security of these connections has come into question recently thanks to an experiment conducted by Oxford University researcher James Pavur.
Pavur presented the results of his experiment at Black Hat 2020 where he tried to convince the infosec community that the unsecured nature of satellite broadband communications is worth a second look. Over the course of several years, he was able to successfully intercept the signals of 18 satellites transmitting internet across a 100m square kilometre are from a fixed physical location in the UK.
