This Week in Tech (Audio) TWiT 1054: Nine Days a Week - Satellite Data Exposed With $750 of Equipment
Oct 20, 2025
Jacob Ward, an investigative technology journalist, Harper Reed, a noted technologist and entrepreneur, and Abrar Al-Heeti, CNET's senior tech reporter, dive into alarming revelations about satellite data vulnerabilities. They discuss how just $750 can allow attackers to intercept sensitive communications. The conversation shifts to the aging systems that permit these issues and the reality of software scams that have netted criminals $1 billion through social engineering. The trio also explores AI’s impact on society, from job automation to regulatory needs.
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Satellites Leak Sensitive Data Cheaply
- Researchers found geostationary satellite communications frequently broadcast sensitive data unencrypted and can be intercepted with about $750 of consumer hardware.
- The vulnerability spans corporate, governmental, in-flight Wi‑Fi, voice and SMS traffic, revealing decades‑old security-by-obscurity failures.
Incentives, Not Ignorance, Stall Fixes
- Companies often ignore security flaws when there is no commercial incentive to fix them and some agencies may prefer convenient access to unencrypted channels.
- Jacob Ward suggested reputational costs and intelligence relationships shape corporate inaction on long-known vulnerabilities.
Inside A Long‑Game Romance Scam
- Jacob Ward interviewed a Nigerian romance scammer who spent years cultivating victims and earned life‑changing sums from a single target.
- He noted the industry is organized, uses manuals, and yields huge incentives for persistent scammers.
