You might think the view
outside our planet looks like this.
But really, it looks more like this.
There are more than 2,000 satellites
orbiting Earth right now.
And there are about to be a lot more.
Endless entertainment.
Non-stop communications.
And unlimited information.
Everything you need, in an instant.
Unless
In 1729, Sir Isaac Newton theorized
that if you loaded a cannon on top
of a high mountain at the North Pole,
and fired it at precisely the right
height, angle, and speed,
the cannonball would enter Earth's orbit,
and be able to circle the entire planet
without falling back down.
Of course, Newton's hypothesis was centuries
before the advent of space-bound rockets.
But it was his experiments that
eventually lead to Sputnik,
the first artificial satellite,
being launched on October 4th, 1957.
Since Sputnik, it's almost like humans
have become addicted to satellites.
But how couldn't we?
It's thanks to satellites that we have television,
GPS,
accurate weather and climate monitoring,
instant credit card authorization,
and much, much more.
By the year 2025, up to 1,100 satellites
could be launching every year.
But as our reliance on satellites grows,
so do the risks.
There are a lot of smart people in the world,
and not all of them act with the best intentions.
If hackers hijacked every satellite,
could they effectively shut down our planet?
Hacking satellites isn't as uncommon
as you might think.
And it's not that hard to do.
That's because a lot of satellites
have limited memory
and processing capabilities,
so they don’t use data encryption.
What’s more, the satellites are made with
off-the-shelf technology,
to make production costs cheaper.
Hackers can analyze the parts used,
so they understand
how the satellites are made.
Vulnerabilities like these might explain
how hackers were able to get control
of the Terra EOS satellite
for 9 minutes in 2008.
Though the hackers never moved the satellite,
they could have easily caused a lot of damage.
If hackers got control of all our satellites,
it probably wouldn't take us very long to notice.
They could jam all our signals,
and wreak havoc on our infrastructure.
Your TV and radio would stop working,
and so would electricity grids,
transportation systems,
and water networks.
GPS and remote
communication systems would fail,
making it harder to organize
a coordinated response,
while also scaring the $#@%
out of every pilot in the sky!
If the hackers had militant ambitions,
they'd have control over
every armed drone in flight.
That could be quite a big arsenal.
The internet wouldn't cut out immediately,
but we'd notice a gradual slowdown
before it ground to a halt.
Any computerized systems would need to be
switched to manual back-up systems.
Amid the chaos,
governments would have to act fast to
implement emergency measures,
since communications,
transportation,
power, and computer systems
would be severely disrupted.
But what kind of emergency measures
could we fall back on,
when there was nothing to prevent hackers
from hijacking our satellites in the first place?
Despite our growing reliance on satellites,
there aren't any
cybersecurity standards for satellites,
and there is no worldwide governing body
that regulates and ensures cybersecurity.
Even if the standards were developed,
there are no mechanisms
in place to enforce them.
So for now, it looks like it's
every man for themself.
Don't worry, it doesn't fall on you
to protect the world's satellites from hackers,
but you are responsible
for your own personal online protection.
But don't worry,
Surf Shark VPN is here to help.
Like most virtual private networks,
Surf Shark VPN will keep all your
personal data safe from unwanted eyes,
but it will also do a lot more.
Right now, you can discover
all the benefits of Surf Shark VPN
at an
Surf Shark VPN encrypts all your personal data.
And with its HackLock ID protection,
Surf Shark will notify you
if your email address or password
is ever compromised.
On top of that, you can also use
Surf Shark's BlindSearch tool,
which allows you to easily look things up
without being tracked by targeted ads.
We spend 6 to 8 hours a day online,
possibly more in the future.
It's time to get smarter about cybersecurity,
and protecting our online identities.
Surf in peace.
Surf in style.
At the end of the day,
the more we rely on online activity
and other satellite-powered technologies,
the more we need to protect them.
Satellite operators can have their
communications hop between frequencies,
so it's harder for a hacker
to jam their communications.
We might also want to build satellites
with tougher materials to
prevent electromagnetic interference.
This would protect them from cyberattacks
and from natural phenomena.
It is much more expensive
to produce secure satellites,
but I'd say the upfront cost is worth it
compared to the consequences
we just mentioned.
While satellites have been hacked
thousands of times in the past,
it would be a pretty big undertaking
to hijack over 2,000 satellites at once.
So while this scenario may be unlikely,
it doesn't mean that we're out of the woods
when it comes to satellite disasters.
There are still objects like
asteroids and space debris
to worry about.
And can you imagine
how big a problem it would be
if we sent all our garbage into space?
Well, that's a story for another WHAT IF.