Satellites leak voice calls, text messages and more

Scientists from several US universities intercepted unencrypted broadcast traffic from geostationary satellites using off‑the‑shelf equipment on a university rooftop. Geostationary satellites orbit at about 22,000 miles (36,000 kilometres) above the Earth to stay fixed relative to a location, making them convenient for relaying voice calls, text messages and internet data.

The study scanned IP traffic on 39 GEO satellites across 25 distinct longitudes with 411 transponders, finding that about half of the signals carried clear text IP traffic. Among the intercepted data were private voice calls, text messages and call metadata sent through cellular backhaul, with additional material from banks, entertainment and aviation, and even industrial control signals for utility infrastructure.

The researchers highlighted a pervasive lack of standardised encryption, noting that traffic could be intercepted by anyone with suitable equipment, and urged users to encrypt communications and consider secure apps and a VPN. Following the findings, T-Mobile took steps to address the issue, though other providers remained unnamed as yet to patch the vulnerabilities.