Even ships are capable of being hacked remotely

Typically, large ships and aircraft will be equipped with VSAT systems, allowing crews to send, receive messages and access the Internet during the trip. However, in fact, some VSAT systems are not really safe and can allow attackers to access and interrupt communications.

Security researcher x0rz found that many VSAT systems can be accessed from public Internet systems. This not only means that they can be tracked through search services like Shodan, but some are configured in such a way that a remote attacker can be accessed by default.

TNW has exchanged with x0rz via messaging application - Signal. At the beginning of the interview, he said: No ships were harmed in their experiments. However, anyone who is not cautious can cause significant damage. The system they obtained allows you to review the call history from the VSAT phone, change the system settings and even upload new firmware (control software).

They also noted that the VSAT system could be connected to other devices on the ship, because in theory, an attacker could exploit a VSAT system to infiltrate a network and cause greater damage. .

When these systems are publicly accessible, it can locate ships with "unsettling" accuracy. In the interview, x0rz indicated the latitude and longitude of a ship he claimed was Russian due to the language used in the system and its IP address. John Matherly - founder of Shodan also created a map to be able to track ships in real time.

X0rz only identified a few easily compromised VSAT systems. All were from British producer Cobham and configured to expose HTTP web services to the Internet.

X0rz also said that VSAT systems are also quite popular on airplanes, from small private aircraft to military aircraft and passenger aircraft.

According to Thane & Thane, a Danish transport company, the VSAT system is used to calibrate measuring devices. Any interruption can cause immeasurable consequences.