China-Singapore Cybersecurity Team Claims Breakthrough in Hacking Starlink Terminals

A cybersecurity team based in Singapore and Shanghai says it has crossed a barrier that long limited research into SpaceX’s Starlink system: the latest user terminals can now be compromised.

Darknavy, an independent cybersecurity research institute, said in a social media post on Tuesday that it used sophisticated hardware attacks to obtain full administrative control of the terminals. That access allows researchers to run any custom code on the devices.

The institute described the access as an unprecedented opening for security research into Starlink. Until now, detailed work on the satellite system’s security had largely stalled because researchers could not hack the terminals.

Starlink provides internet access through user terminals that connect to satellites in low-Earth orbit. Those satellites relay data through ground gateways to the wider internet. Newer satellites are also gradually receiving laser links, allowing some of them to communicate directly and reducing their reliance on ground stations while improving transmission speeds and coverage.

The terminal serves as both an antenna and a router, making it a key connection point between users and the satellite network. In battlefield conditions such as those in Ukraine, terminals can still reach the internet without local ground gateways by routing signals through satellites connected to gateways in neighboring countries.