A young Belgian researcher succeeds in hacking Elon Musk’s Starlink system: he receives a reward

A young researcher from the University of Louvain has set himself the challenge of hacking into the Starlink satellite system launched by billionaire Elon Musk. After several months and very little means, he succeeded. The Starlink company congratulated the young Belgian and even awarded him.

A security researcher at KU Leuven completely dismantled a Starlink antenna with the aim of finding a flaw in the system. “We took everything apart first and wanted to understand how secure the system was, if we might discover any weaknesses. With a special technique, we managed to place our own system on the antenna”explique Lennert Wouters.

Generating a short circuit, the engineer detected a breach in the electronics that allowed him to enter the company’s system. “In theory, this is the first step in trying to hack a satellite in space.”says the young Belgian.

“The danger is that it collides with another satellite”

These Starlink antennas allow 3,000 users worldwide to connect to the internet through a network of satellites sent into space for Elon Musk. This flaw brought to light security dangers. “If someone can take control of a satellite, the danger is that it collides with another satellite. It might therefore break up and generate a lot of debris. We then risk a chain reaction with waste in space, which would be dangerous for all satellites.with en garde Lennert Wouters.

We find the attack technically impressive

The young researcher sent the results of his research that lasted a year. He received congratulations. “We find the attack technically impressive. This is a first of its kind on our system”reacted the Starlink company via a press release.

“The feedback has been very positive. They then tried to reproduce the attack in their lab. It hasn’t worked yet but we have put the documents online, so it will be easier now”estime Lennert Wouters.

A reward of 12,000 euros

Elon Musk’s company has promised a reward of 12,000 euros to the researcher whose attack cost him 25 euros. Starlink intends to hire hackers to prevent system failures.