Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, sent a truckload of Starlink antennas — which can be used to connect to the company’s satellite-based internet service — to Ukraine this week in response to a request from the country’s vice prime minister, who expressed concern that Ukrainians might lose internet access if Russia’s attacks on communication infrastructure continue.
However, cybersecurity experts warned CNN Business that employing satellite services may be perilous in conflict, as proven by the history of nations exploiting satellite communications to geolocate and attack foes.
“If an opponent has a specialized plane aloft, it may identify [a satellite] signal and zero in on it,” said Nicholas Weaver, a security researcher at the University of California in Berkeley, via email. “”It won’t be simple, but the Russians have plenty of experience detecting and responding to various signal emitters in Syria.” Starlink may operate for the time being, but anybody installing a [Starlink] dish in Ukraine should view it as a possible huge target.”
“It would be beneficial,” Weaver remarked, “but you don’t want to set it up (or really any conspicuous emitter) in Ukraine anyplace near where you wouldn’t want a Russian bomb to drop.”
Musk weighed in on Twitter shortly after this news was first published, writing “Important warning: In certain places of Ukraine, Starlink is the only non-Russian communications system still operational, thus the chances of being attacked are significant. Please use caution before using.”
“Switch on Starlink only when needed and set antenna as far away from people as possible,” according to users in Ukraine, who should also “pose light camouflage over antenna to avoid eye detection,” according to him.
Musk offered assistance, stating that the Starlink network had been launched in Ukraine, and a truckload of user terminals — which are necessary to provide users with access to the satellite-based internet service — arrived this week.
Fedorov shared a picture online.
He also posted a snapshot of what seemed to be an operational Starlink antenna at work on Wednesday.
Fedorov then confirmed that he’d read Musk’s Twitter warning about the safety concerns and said, “Sure…We’ll use them for Ukrainians as well after our win.”
Despite Russian invaders’ strikes on other communications infrastructure, like a TV tower in Kyiv’s capital, the bulk of the nation still has access to conventional, Earth-based internet connections, according to Alp Toker, CEO of internet monitoring firm NetBlocks.
However, there have been disruptions in some locations, according to Toker.
“The most severe interruptions have been recorded in the east, including Melitopol, Mariupol, Kharkiv, and across the Luhansk and Donetsk areas toward Ukraine-controlled territories and Severodonetsk,” Toker wrote in an email. “Kyiv and the country’s west have fared better.”
Kyiv and the country’s west have fared better. Toker went on to add that Starlink “isn’t going to get Ukraine back online in the case of a nationwide blackout,” according to NetBlocks, but it can supply hotspots for critical services like supporting journalists, resistance groups, and government officials “fortunate enough to have access to the equipment.”
However, Toker admitted that utilizing the service might be risky: “In warzones, there is always the possibility of new technology being discovered, and being caught with unfamiliar equipment can lead to journalists or activists being singled out for deeper inspection. When it comes to telecommunications equipment, there’s also the possibility of being tracked and triangulated via [radiofrequency] emissions.”
These risks must be assessed on a case-by-case basis, according to Toker.
Over the weekend, John Scott-Railton, a senior researcher at the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab who has spent a decade investigating hacking and monitoring in conflict zones, took to Twitter to raise awareness about the potential dangers. He applauded SpaceX’s outreach, but cautioned that Starlink terminals can become the equivalent of a large bullseye painted on one’s back.
The threats are unrelated to whether or not the communications are encrypted, according to Scott-Railton, because devices don’t have to be eavesdropped on by the enemy to be tracked down. He also pointed out that because Starlink is still a relatively new technology, it hasn’t been thoroughly tested in combat zones to detect and analyze its potential threats.
A request for comment on the subject from a US military spokeswoman was not returned. The hazards of deploying satellite technology in combat zones are well known to the US military. Because of the security and intelligence threats, both parties in the Iraq war in 2003 prohibited satellite phones.
SpaceX hasn’t reacted to a request for comment on Starlink, and it hasn’t responded to typical reporter email inquiries in years. Requests for reaction from Ukrainian officials and the military were not immediately returned.
Scott-Railton said that employing satellite technology in war zones has been an underappreciated danger in the past. Russians are said to have exploited the signals transmitted by a satellite phone to target and murder Chechen ruler Dzhokhar Dudayev in 1996. He said on Twitter that Russia has “decades of experience” carrying out such attacks. Scott-Railton has also looked at the use of satellite technology in the 2011 Libyan revolution.
Scott-Railton stated that it’s not always evident when an adversary has caught on to an enemy’s use of satellite technology until it’s too late.
Bottom line, the deployment of SpaceX’s Starlink terminals in Ukraine could raise serious concerns among Ukrainian officials…Russia could use this geolocation information for anything from intelligence gathering and tracking to airstrikes,” Josh Lospinoso, CEO of Shift5, a US-based computer security firm, added in an email.
Dmitry Rogozin, the chairman of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos, stated emphatically that Russia is aware of Musk’s gift, which he regards as unfriendly. Rogozin claimed SpaceX’s claims that Starlink is for civilian use and is designed to connect the world are “fairy tales” in comments translated by CNN Business on Wednesday.
“Muskophiles think it’s incredible; it’s the light of our global cosmic voyage,” Rogozin added. “In any case, [Musk] has chosen a side. I have no problems with him. It’s self-evident that we should never trust the West because it has always been plagued by jealousy among political elites, jealousy of our country. Look at how they’re currently competing to defecate on our relationships, and who’s going to clean up the mess later? What is going on right now is quite hazardous.”
In a tweet, Musk responded.
“Strange failures in Ukraine’s civilian Internet — terrible weather, perhaps? — as a result, SpaceX is assisting in the repair, “he penned.
Source: CNN
