‘Illegally activated’ Starlink terminals available on black market

The «sheer availability” of Starlink internet terminals on the international black market remains “a systemic global problem,” a Bloomberg investigation has revealed.

The probe identified «wide-spanning examples of Starlink kits being traded and activated illegally,» the news agency reported referring to such countries as Yemen, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Sudan, South Africa and Venezuela.

This followed SpaceX tweeting in February that if the company “obtains knowledge that a Starlink terminal is being used by a sanctioned or unauthorized party, SpaceX officials investigate the claim and take actions to deactivate the terminal if confirmed.”

The Biden administration is meanwhile mulling tightening Starlink-related export controls that keep them out of the hands of US adversaries, according to Bloomberg.

In an interview with the news outlet, Emma Shortis, a senior researcher in international and security affairs at the Canberra- based Australia Institute think tank, voiced deep concern over the results of the probe.

Shortis was echoed by Candace Johnson, director at Montreal-based NorthStar Earth & Space Inc., who told Bloomberg that, “There needs to be more accountability: to your country, to your company, to your shareholders, to your stakeholders.”

The news outlet pointed to Starlink’s effectiveness as a communications tool, which makes it “such a sensitive matter.”

SpaceX provided the technology to the Kiev regime in the early days of the Russian special military operation, but last year, Musk made it clear that the Ukrainian Army would not be allowed to use the Starlink services for combat purposes, and that they were only intended for commercial terminals.

The Starlink project, aimed to blanket the surface of the Earth with low-latency internet, began launching small satellites into low-Earth orbit in 2019. To date, the Starlink constellation consists of over 5,000 satellites, while the goal is to use about 43,000.