Anyone can listen in on your satellite phone calls: Study
Researchers found that loads of sensitive info—like government, military, and company data—is being sent over satellites without encryption.
With gear costing less than $1,000, almost anyone can pick it up.
Researchers intercepted calls to demonstrate the vulnerability
Using an $800 setup on a university rooftop, the team intercepted unprotected signals from 39 satellites (about 15% of the global fleet).
In just nine hours, they grabbed over 2,700 phone numbers from T-Mobile. In a separate 30-minute recording, they observed 710 phone numbers from AT&T Mexico.
They also picked up military messages, in-flight Wi-Fi traffic, and even data from power grids and oil pipelines.
Why is there no encryption? Challenges and costs
Even though your phone encrypts calls to cell towers, those calls often travel unencrypted across huge areas via satellite links.
Companies struggle to add encryption due to bandwidth overhead, hardware and power constraints, licensing costs, and troubleshooting difficulties.
Experts warn that intelligence agencies could be taking advantage—and fixing this mess could take years as old systems get updated.