Chinese Military Analyst Releases Plan to Hack Starlink Written 23 June 2022

View-of-Starlink-SATs-24May2019-SpaceX-250

View of the 60 Starlink satellites from the 24 May 2019 launch. |  Credit: Official SpaceX Photos, CC0/Wikimedia Commons

Bloomberg reports that in a paper “published this spring by the Beijing Institute of Tracking and Telecommunications Technology, a researcher urges the Chinese military to track and monitor every satellite in the sprawling Starlink network.” The paper, published in the Modern Defense Technology journal, reads Starlink “can provide more stable and reliable communication capabilities for the combat units deployed by the US military around the world. On the other hand, it also has the potential to provide high-definition pictures and even live video.” Therefore, Beijing should consider “a combination of soft and hard kill methods” in order to “make some Starlink satellites lose their functions and destroy the constellation’s operating system.” Space Law and Policy Solutions founder Michael Listner said, “This is a national security issue for the Chinese, they’re looking at Taiwan, if something happens, this system could be important for the Defense Department. Starlink offers the US military resiliency. You can hit our systems but we have backup capabilities.”
Full Story (Bloomberg)