The researchers used only $800 worth of equipment for three years and were able to receive signals from several geostationary satellites. At the same time, they did not even violate the law – the data simply “flew” in the open air.
As a result, samples of phone calls and SMS messages were obtained from T-Mobile users, data from airlines’ on-board Wi-Fi networks, as well as information from infrastructure objects from power grids to naval platforms.
In some cases, it was possible to record military communications between the United States and Mexico, including coordinates of equipment and objects.
The study was called “Don’t Look Up” – researchers ironically noted that many companies hoped no one would “look up” and check their satellite signals.
After its release, some carriers, including T-Mobile, moved to enable encryption. However, scientists estimate that large amounts of data around the world remain vulnerable.
Source: Ferra
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