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Comment on Russia is using SpaceX’s Starlink satellite devices in Ukraine, sources say

rdri@lemmy.world ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

It’s just data, which can also be easily encrypted and proxied to mask the fact that they are being used for military purposes.

It’s not though. The data goes both ways. As long as the device id was not altered, its history of movement can be tracked down, provided such a data is being recorded.

Also, there may be caveats about how accounts are getting created and activated. Those devices bought by Russia may come with pre-activated accounts which can be tracked by origin.

Finally, billing. Unless Russia is not relying on stolen Ukrainian credit cards it should be easy to identify that a group of devices/accounts are being paid for by entities that are neither Russian nor Ukrainian.

Based on all of that, they could filter groups of devices by location, confirm it with Ukrainian forces and ban maliciously used ones.

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UrPartnerInCrime@sh.itjust.works ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Yeah. Russia crosses many lines but stealing credit cards is NOT one of them

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- rdri@lemmy.world ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  What do you mean? They steal basically everything they when destroying cities and killing people. Should I mention it’s a crime to make it more obvious?
  
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  - nulluser@programming.dev ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Pretty sure the person you’re responding to didn’t think a /s was necessary, seeing how obvious the sarcasm was.
    
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    rdri@lemmy.world ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    I don’t get such a sarcasm. It doesn’t target any specific point in my arguments, they are about how Starlink could locate the illegal use of devices, not about how justified or not Russian crimes are.
    
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KairuByte@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Russia has operatives worldwide. Just like every other country with any sort of intelligence agency. The idea that they aren’t able to come up with a credit card with a Ukrainian name that looks 100% legitimate to a billing company is farcical.

Let me just ask you point blank, do you think the CIA could manage to purchase a Starlink, activate it, and use it, without anyone having any idea it was the CIA that did all that? Because if so, it’s just as easy for Russia to do it.

Hell, I could likely do it.

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- gardylou@lemmy.world ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
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  - KairuByte@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Really? Let’s see…
    
    Purchase a prepaid Visa card from somewhere without cameras, preload it with $1k.
    
    Using a library computer, order a Starlink device to a post office, general delivery under a pseudonym.
    
    Pick up said order using a fake ID with the pseudonym previously mentioned.
    
    Congrats! You are now the proud owner of a Starlink dish, under a fake name, with no traceable evidence left behind of who you actually were.
    
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- rdri@lemmy.world ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  
  The idea that they aren’t able to come up with a credit card with a Ukrainian name that looks 100% legitimate to a billing company is farcical.
  
  I see you don’t know how credit card numbers work. You may also not be aware of the fact that credit cards aren’t working in Russia for almost 2 years.
  
  Let me just ask you point blank, do you think the CIA could manage to purchase a Starlink, activate it, and use it, without anyone having any idea it was the CIA that did all that?
  
  Just one or two is easy to manage. A dozen is much more difficult already, provided Starlink manages some security and have access to metadata (data that ultimately can’t be faked such as location, accounts, device id).
  
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  - KairuByte@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    … meaning that one of their many worldwide operatives could just get a credit card. Like, say, in Ukraine.
    
    You’re focused way too hard on “following the law and doing things by the book” without realizing Russia is more of a “do what it takes.”
    
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    rdri@lemmy.world ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Yeah okay. Let’s say we covered the billing. What about devices id, their origin and location? Those are not purchased through Ukraine and Starlink is ought to know that.
    
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LarmyOfLone@lemm.ee ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
This is kinda scary. Sanctions are one thing, but do you really want your internet provider to investigate people and act like an intelligence service for the state?

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- rdri@lemmy.world ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  It’s not about what I want. It’s about what Starlink can do to make sure their help to Ukrainian army (which is paid by the US department of defense) goes only to Ukrainian army.
  
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