MOSCOW, February 26. /TASS/. Starlink is selling user terminal data and activity to US intelligence agencies, Dmitry Kuzyakin, an unmanned aircraft expert and chief designer of the Center for Integrated Unmanned Solutions, told TASS.
"Both hardware and software of Starlink terminals can be hacked, making them operate under dummy accounts in Russia and LBS for various purposes. Starlink knows which terminals have been hacked and separately collects all available information on their operation, including traffic, network addresses, communication sessions, and actual geolocation. The company sells the collected data to both US intelligence agencies and affiliated organizations. The obtained information regarding terminals used by the Russian Armed Forces is stored indefinitely and will be resold multiple times," the expert said.
Kuzyakin emphasized that disseminating sensitive information to the general public abroad is unacceptable. "We must recognize that the Internet on the battlefield today is as essential as tactical medicine, personnel food, hygiene, or logistics. We are fighting a full-scale war of the future, and our steps must be appropriate to the times. The Internet on the battlefield is already a reality. <...> Today, there are numerous technologies that can quickly provide the front and adjacent territories with their own broadband connection," the expert noted.
On February 17, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexey Krivoruchko reported that the shutdown of Starlink terminals had not affected the command and control system of Russian troops in the special military operation zone in Ukraine. Valery Tishkov, head of the Main Communications Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces, told the VGTRK broadcaster that Russian units used the Starlink satellite communications system to mislead the enemy.