Tag Archive for: SpaceX

Hack Starlink and get up to $25,000 as a reward from SpaceX

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As the services become available in more countries, Starlink is likely to see a large number of users. Since the company, ships its terminal to anybody who pays for it, even in the remotest parts of the country, it has no control over how the terminals are used and possibly even misused to gain entry to its network.

The $25 Starlink Hack

Last week, we reported how a custom-made modchip could be used to hack into Starlink’s ‘Dishy’ and cause a glitch that allows hackers to access locked parts of the system. Reports suggest that the modchip, made from off-the-shelf parts can be put together for a measly sum of $25 and gives the attacker, root access to the terminal that allows them to execute arbitrary code.

Such a hack compromises the Starlink terminal in a way, that it cannot be fixed by the company and was also shared at the recently concluded BlackHat Conference in the U.S. Luckily, the intention of the hacker was not to disrupt Starlink’s services but to demonstrate how vulnerable the infrastructure was and how it needed to be improved.

Starlink’s Bug Bounty Program

The ease with which the hacker, Lennert Wouters, managed to get into the Starlink terminal prompted the parent company to release a six-page document that spends a fair bit of time explaining what security measures Starlink’s network is equipped with and what Wouters’ hack means for the regular users of Starlink’s services, which is basically no-risk.

It is only on the last two pages that the company goes on to state that it encourages others to hack into its systems and also rewards them for reporting bugs to the company.

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SpaceX Invites Security Researchers to Hack Starlink

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To secure Starlink, SpaceX is inviting security researchers to try and hack the satellite internet system and then report any vulnerabilities to the company. 

Interested security researchers can submit their findings to SpaceX’s bug bounty program, which can pay up to $25,000 per discovered vulnerability. The company is looking for bugs covering the entire Starlink ecosystem, including its mobile apps and the main website Starlink.com.

SpaceX made the announcement this week after a security researcher at the Black Hat conference publicly disclosed several vulnerabilities in the Starlink dish that can be used to run custom computer code over the hardware at all privilege levels. 

“We find the attack to be technically impressive, and is the first attack of its kind that we are aware of in our system,” SpaceX said in its announcement. 

The researcher, Lennert Wouters, told Wired that a SpaceX patch has rolled out for Starlink dishes to make it harder to exploit the vulnerabilities. Even so, the flaws will persist in existing hardware unless the main chip inside can be replaced. He discovered the flaws after tearing down a Starlink dish.

Still, users shouldn’t worry about the discovered vulnerabilities, according to SpaceX. The flaws can only be exploited if the attacker has physical access to a Starlink dish, meaning a remote attack that can infect a user’s Starlink dish isn’t possible.

Perhaps more importantly, the vulnerabilities also can’t be used to attack a Starlink satellite in orbit. Nor can they expose other user’s information or be exploited to tamper with other Starlink dishes over the network. 

Nevertheless, the discovered flaws underscore the cybersecurity risks facing Starlink. SpaceX is particularly concerned about elite hackers uncovering vulnerabilities in the dish hardware, which could allow them to access the thousands of Starlink satellites currently up in orbit. 

“The Starlink kit is the user’s entry point into the broader network,” the company wrote, while adding: “We are going to sell a lot of Starlink kits (that’s our business!), so we have to assume some of those kits will go to people who want to attack the system.”

The risk of a…

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SpaceX Starlink speeds revealed as beta users get downloads of 11 to 60Mbps

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A SpaceX Starlink user terminal, also known as a satellite dish, seen against a city's skyline.

Enlarge / A SpaceX Starlink user terminal/satellite dish. (credit: SpaceX)

Beta users of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite-broadband service are getting download speeds ranging from 11Mbps to 60Mbps, according to tests conducted using Ookla’s speedtest.net tool. Speed tests showed upload speeds ranging from 5Mbps to 18Mbps.

The same tests, conducted over the past two weeks, showed latencies or ping rates ranging from 31ms to 94ms. This isn’t a comprehensive study of Starlink speeds and latency, so it’s not clear whether this is what Internet users should expect once Starlink satellites are fully deployed and the service reaches commercial availability. We asked SpaceX several questions about the speed-test results yesterday and will update this article if we get answers.

Links to 11 anonymized speed tests by Starlink users were posted by a Reddit user yesterday. Another Reddit user compiled some of the tests to make this graphic:

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