Elon Musk says successfully resisted Starlink jamming, hacking attempts in Ukraine

Tech billionaire Elon Musk had warned earlier this month that his communications satellite Starlink, the only non-Russian system working in war-torn Ukraine, had a high probability of being targeted by hackers. Today, in a tweet, the SpaceX CEO said that Starlink has successfully resisted all jamming and hacking attempts so far.

The Tesla CEO was replying to a news report that claimed that Russian military had hacked satellite communication devices in Ukraine at the onset of the war when he said his company has still been able to keep hackers at bay.

“Starlink, at least so far, has resisted all hacking and jamming attempts,” Musk, 50, tweeted.

Starlink, at least so far, has resisted all hacking & jamming attempts

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 25, 2022

Earlier this month, Musk had tweeted out a warning.

“Important warning: Starlink is the only non-Russian communications system still working in some parts of Ukraine, so probability of being targeted is high. Please use with caution,” the tweet read.

The following day, Musk said that SpaceX, that operates Starlink, has been reprioritized to cyber defense and overcoming signal jamming. The step will cause slight delays in Starship and Starlink V2, Musk gave a heads up.

SpaceX reprioritized to cyber defense & overcoming signal jamming.

Will cause slight delays in Starship & Starlink V2.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 5, 2022

Musk went on to say that some Starlink terminals near conflict areas in Ukraine were being jammed for several hours at a time. But his company’s latest software update bypassed the jamming, Musk said. He added: “Am curious to see what’s next!”

Some Starlink terminals near conflict areas were being jammed for several hours at a time. Our latest software update bypasses the jamming.

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Am curious to see what’s next!

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 5, 2022

He also had a word of advice of how to use Starlink to prevent hacking.

Turn on Starlink only when needed and place antenna away as far away from people as possible

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 3, 2022

US President Joe Biden, too, had in an address on Monday, warned American businesses that they need to stay alert as intelligence suggest that Russians are “exploring options” for potential cyberattacks.

Soon after the Russian invasion of its neighbour began on February 24, Elon Musk said his company SpaceX's Starlink satellite broadband service had been activated in Ukraine, after a Kyiv official urged him to provide his country with stations.

"Starlink service is now active in Ukraine," Musk had tweeted, adding "more terminals en route." This came after just 10 hours of Ukrainian Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov’s appeal.