Satellites could be hacked, expert warns

Thousands of ethical hackers and security researchers gathered in Las Vegas last week to address some of the biggest potential threats to cybersecurity.

At the Black Hat information security conference, researchers revealed how satellite communications could be used by hackers to launch ‘cyber-physical attacks,’ essentially turning their antennas into massive microwave ovens, according to the Guardian.

And Def Con, one of the world’s largest hacker conventions, will serve as a lab for breaking into voting machines, extending its efforts to identify potential security flaws in technology that may be used in the November U.S. elections.

In a presentation building off prior research, Ruben Santamarta of security firm IOActive warned that the communications used by ships, planes, and the military are vulnerable to hackers.

‘The consequences of these vulnerabilities are shocking,’ Santamarta said, according to the Guardian.

‘Essentially, the theoretical cases I developed four years ago are no longer theoretical.

‘We’re basically turning Satcom devices into radio frequency weapons,’ Santamarta said. ‘It’s pretty much the same principle behind the microwave oven.’

Satellite systems could also be used to leak information, the expert said.