Small Satellite Dish Systems 'Ripe For Hacking'

The Walking Dude writes: "According to the CS Monitor, 'Thousands of small satellite dish-based computer systems [VSATs] that transmit often-sensitive data from far flung locations worldwide – oil rigs, ships at sea, banks, and even power grid substations – are at high risk of being hacked, including many in the United States, a new cyber-security report has found.' Dr. Jason Fritz said, 'Vulnerabilities exist at all nodes and links in satellite structure. These can be exploited through Internet-connected computer networks, as hackers are more commonly envisioned to do, or through electronic warfare methodologies that more directly manipulate the radio waves of uplinks and downlinks.'"

Even satellite can be hacked

[Taco Cowboy]

In the 1990's a communication satellite belonging to China was hacked and the hackers (rumored to be a state-sponsored hacker group) changed the tee vee channels on that satellite to carry anti CCP programs.

Almost 20 years have passed and nobody claimed responsibility over that incident, but it is believed that the hacker group was sponsored by some state (nation) because it does take quite a bit more ooomph in term of beaming power in order to hack into a satellite orbiting the Earth.

As for that particular Chinese communication satellite, China tried to "unhack" that bird but failed. So China took the "Plan B" route - they junked that bird, shut everything on that satellite down and now it's floating up there doing nothing.