Overview

• UC San Diego and University of Maryland teams used off‑the‑shelf equipment costing under $800 to receive unencrypted geostationary downlinks.
• A nine‑hour capture of T‑Mobile satellite backhaul exposed phone numbers, calls and texts for more than 2,700 users from one side of the conversations.
• Intercepted data included in‑flight Wi‑Fi traffic, communications from oil rigs and electric utilities, and transmissions involving U.S. and Mexican military and law‑enforcement entities.
• From a San Diego site the researchers could access about 15% of active satellites, while individual downlinks can cover over 40% of Earth, suggesting broader systemic risk.
• After notifications, T‑Mobile, Walmart and KPU enabled encryption, but other broadcasters remained unprotected, and the team emphasized passive listening and potential legal concerns.