SpaceX sent Starlink internet terminals to Ukraine. Users should be cautious
Tweet text:
Surveillance Killjoy
@hypervisible
"It may be useful, but for safety's sake you don't want to set it (or really any distinctive emitter) up in Ukraine anywhere close to where you would not want a Russian bomb dropping..."
cnn.com
SpaceX sent Starlink internet terminals to Ukraine. Users should be cautious
2:08 PM · Mar 3, 2022
https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/03/tech/spacex-starlink-ukraine-internet-security-risks-scn/index.html
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk sent a truckload of Starlink antennas which can be used to connect to the companys satellite-based internet service to Ukraine this week, responding to a plea from the countrys vice prime minister amid fears that Ukrainians could lose internet access if Russia continues its attacks on communication infrastructure.
But using satellite services can be dangerous in wartime, as evidenced by a history of states using satellite signals to geolocate and target enemies, cybersecurity experts told CNN Business.
If an adversary has a specialized plane aloft, it can detect [a satellite] signal and home in on it, Nicholas Weaver, a security researcher at the University of California at Berkeley, said via email. It isnt necessarily easy, but the Russians have a lot of practice on tracking various signal emitters in Syria and responding. Starlink may work for the moment, but anyone setting a [Starlink] dish up in Ukraine needs to consider it as a potential giant target.
In short: It may be useful, but for safetys sake you dont want to set it (or really any distinctive emitter) up in Ukraine anywhere close to where you would not want a Russian bomb dropping, Weaver said.
*snip*
Hmmm.....how about placing them along the road where the convoy is.