The Big Sip
Image: Reddit
Satellite operators skipped encryption on half of global satellite traffic—including military communications, banking data, and T-Mobile calls.
UC San Diego and University of Maryland researchers published findings on 14 October 2025, revealing that 50% of geostationary satellite communications broadcast unencrypted.
Researchers intercepted traffic using $800 in consumer equipment over a three-year study monitoring 39 satellites.
Remote cell towers, military vessels, banks, and utilities chose to save money on encryption costs and bandwidth rather than secure communications visible to 40% of Earth's surface at any time.
Anyone with basic gear can intercept calls, texts, and operational data that run critical infrastructure and national security operations.
Will the remaining unnamed infrastructure operators and telecom providers implement encryption after being notified by researchers?
Will cost concerns and complexity continue to outweigh security even after the public exposure of the vulnerability?
[Analysis] TechCrunch, 14 October 2025: Satellites found exposing unencrypted data, including phone calls and some military comms — Researchers spent the past year alerting affected organizations, including T-Mobile and AT&T, but warn that large amounts of satellite data will remain unencrypted and exposed for years to come due to cost barriers and lack of coordinated oversight across the satellite communications industry.
Satellite TV has used encryption for decades to prevent piracy. Your phone calls through space didn't get the same treatment because nobody thought you'd check.
Before you dunk in today’s brew, here are words from today’s sponsor…
Crash Expert: “This Looks Like 1929” → 70,000 Hedging Here
Mark Spitznagel, who made $1B in a single day during the 2015 flash crash, warns markets are mimicking 1929. Yeah, just another oracle spouting gloom and doom, right?
Vanguard and Goldman Sachs forecast just 5% and 3% annual S&P returns respectively for the next decade (2024-2034).
Bonds? Not much better.
Enough warning signals—what’s something investors can actually do to diversify this week?
Almost no one knows this, but postwar and contemporary art appreciated 11.2% annually with near-zero correlation to equities from 1995–2024, according to Masterworks Data.
And sure… billionaires like Bezos and Gates can make headlines at auction, but what about the rest of us?
Masterworks makes it possible to invest in legendary artworks by Banksy, Basquiat, Picasso, and more – without spending millions.
23 exits. Net annualized returns like 17.6%, 17.8%, and 21.5%. $1.2 billion invested.
Shares in new offerings can sell quickly but…
*Past performance is not indicative of future returns. Important Reg A disclosures: masterworks.com/cd.
Here’s The Brew
Researchers proved satellite security failures using an $800 satellite dish.
On 14 October 2025, researchers published three years of findings showing that half of geostationary satellite traffic broadcasts unencrypted to anyone pointing an antenna at the sky.
Listening, not hacking.
Remote cell towers, military systems, and critical infrastructure beam data through satellites instead of fiber because satellite transmission is cheaper in deserts, mountains, and offshore locations.
Encryption adds licensing costs, consumes bandwidth, and complicates troubleshooting.
So… operators skipped it.
Satellite TV encrypted everything decades ago to prevent piracy.
Military helicopters broadcasting their locations and banks sending transactions received less security attention.
Every operator assumed competitors were securing their links. This led to widespread negligence because everyone thought someone else was handling security.
Military secrets were protected only by the assumption that nobody would point a dish at space and record transmissions.
Two Sides, One Mug
Image: Wired
Pro: Encryption adds real costs—licensing fees, bandwidth consumption, and troubleshooting complexity—that make remote satellite connectivity unaffordable for many operations. Requiring it universally would either price out critical services in remote areas or force government subsidies.
Con: Broadcasting unencrypted military positions, banking transactions, and civilian communications to 40% of Earth's surface allows hostile intelligence services, criminals, and anyone with $800 to intercept sensitive data that should never have been transmitted unencrypted, regardless of cost concerns.
Our read: Satellite TV operators encrypt to prevent piracy. Military and telecom systems skip encryption to save money. Revenue protection gets priority over national security because operators don't bear the cost of security failures; intelligence adversaries and criminals do the collecting while everyone else pays the price.
Receipt of the Day
[Report] The Register: Study reveals satellite communications spilling unencrypted data (14 October 2025)
Why it shifts the read: Details how UC San Diego and University of Maryland researchers spent three years scanning 39 GEO satellites with off-the-shelf equipment and found 50% of IP traffic transmitted in cleartext, including cellular backhaul, in-flight WiFi, and VoIP calls, proving the assumption that "nobody would look up" was catastrophically wrong and intelligence agencies with better equipment have been exploiting this for years.
Spit Take
"50% of satellite signals: unencrypted, $800 to intercept." — UC San Diego/Maryland study, 14 October 2025
Coffee Break Links ×3
9to5Mac: T-Mobile customer call and text data captured from unencrypted satellite comms [Report] — T-Mobile issued a statement clarifying the breach affected "a limited number of cell sites using geosynchronous satellite backhaul in remote, low-population areas" and was fixed after December 2024 notification, but the damage exposes how carriers prioritize cost over security for rural connectivity.
PC Gamer: 'They just really didn't think anyone would look up' [Report] — Researchers intercepted Mexican military intelligence on narcotics tracking, helicopter and naval vessel maintenance records, and armoured vehicle locations—all broadcast unencrypted because operators assumed obscurity equalled security and nobody would bother scanning space.
Interesting Engineering: Satellites are leaking private messages and sensitive military data [Analysis] — Study covered only 15% of operational satellites from a Southern California vantage point, meaning global exposure is exponentially larger, and Johns Hopkins professor confirms intelligence agencies with superior equipment have been exploiting this vulnerability for years while commercial operators saved money on encryption.
Join your team of caffeinated skeptics. ☕
Opinionated world news that respects your time.
One bold take, the best counter, and the receipt(s) that prove it (all in six minutes).
Mugshot Poll 📊
Pick one to fix first.
Before we wrap up today…
Does crypto/Web3 intrigue you?
Is worrying about losing money or getting scammed stopping you from investing?
This course is for you!
Click to share (2 referrals get you free access to your very own crypto mastery email course).
Everything you need to unlock crypto in 5 days (for beginners).
You can read yesterday’s newsletter on the AI bubble here.
For the love of coffee, see you tomorrow!
Enjoy your Wednesday, keep it caffeinated.
How did we do?
Thanks for reading!
Be sure to get your daily curse and coffee fix by hitting that subscribe button.