Overview

• UC San Diego and University of Maryland researchers scanned 39 GEO satellites over three years from San Diego and found roughly half of observed signals carried unencrypted IP traffic.
• Intercepts included T-Mobile backhaul samples of calls and texts, in-flight Wi‑Fi browsing, utility and offshore platform communications, and US and Mexican military and law-enforcement data revealing sensitive details.
• The reception setup cost about $750–$800 in widely available hardware and passively received broadcasts that cover large portions of the Earth without active interception.
• After notifications, T‑Mobile, AT&T Mexico, and Walmart enabled encryption, but the researchers report many satellite links, including some tied to critical infrastructure, remain unsecured.
• The study cites weak use of MPEG scrambling and rare deployment of IPsec, notes the work proceeded under legal counsel with secure data handling, and warns capable actors have likely long exploited these exposures.