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| Musk warns against attacking Starlink in Ukraine |
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has warned that the company's Starlink service in Ukraine, which has been hit by the Russian invasion, is likely to be targeted.
A few days ago, a cybersecurity researcher warned that satellite communications devices could be a beacon for Russian air strikes.
“Important disclaimer Starlink is the only non-Russian communications system still operating in parts of Ukraine,” Musk tweeted. Therefore, the probability of becoming a target is high. Please use with caution.
Elon Musk directed users to activate the Starlink only when needed, position the antenna as far away from people as possible, and blur the antenna slightly to avoid visual detection.
Musk previously said that the service had been launched in Ukraine and that SpaceX should send more websites to the country. This was in response to a tweet from a Ukrainian government official asking Musk to provide Starlink Radio for the struggling country.
Ukraine later said it had received the company's Internet satellite station as a donation. However, a cybersecurity researcher warned that they might be targeted by Russia.
The researchers said that if Putin controlled Ukraine's skies, users' transmission could be a beacon for air strikes.
Starlink service threatened by air strike
In a series of 15 tweets, a senior researcher with the Citizen Lab project at the University of Toronto detailed the risks. “Russia has decades of experience targeting people by aligning their communications with satellites,” said John Scott Leighton.
The Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine thanked the company for maintaining relations with Ukrainian cities and vital emergency services. But he said the country needed generators to keep Starlink online due to Russian attacks on the infrastructure.
In this regard, Musk said that SpaceX is working hard to update the software to reduce power consumption. This allows Starlink to operate via the car's cigarette lighter.
Musk added: Mobile roaming is enabled. Therefore, the antenna can maintain the signal while the vehicle is in motion.
It is reported that Starlink antennas, which are similar to domestic satellite dishes, are not designed for portable use. It is unclear what Musk means in the tweet.