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Hackers Briefly Controlled US Government Satellites

Posted by timothy on from the this-is-the-part-they're-telling-us-about dept.

Orome1 writes "Two U.S. satellites have been tampered with by hackers — possibly Chinese ones — in 2007 and 2008, claims a soon-to-be released report by the the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. The two satellites, Landsat-7 and Terra AM-1, had been interfered with on four separate occasions, allowing the attackers to be in command of the satellites for two to over twelve minutes each time. Luckily, both of the satellites are used only for observing the Earth's climate and terrain, and the hackers never actually misused their control over them in any way."

7 of 261 comments (clear)

  1. WTF! by GregC63 · · Score: 1, Insightful

    WTF!

  2. Pardon me, but by chispito · · Score: 4, Insightful

    the hackers never actually misused their control over them in any way

    Can we agree that that hacking into a satellite is, by definition, misuse? That there is no proper use in this scenario?

    --
    The Daddy casts sleep on the Baby. The Baby resists!
  3. Just testing ... by perpenso · · Score: 3, Insightful

    hackers never actually misused their control over them in any way

    So they are at an early testing stage. That is not overly reassuring.

  4. Not this time: by Oswald+McWeany · · Score: 5, Insightful

    the hackers never actually misused their control over them in any way

    No... they were just trying out a proof-of-concept. Now they know how to take over the satelites though- the Chinese will have us in their grasp if we ever go to war... ... think about it- next time we consider going to war with China- they will take over our satellites and force us to watch Chinese Opera on our TV sets. ... our surrender will be so quick the French will call US surrender monkeys.

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    "That's the way to do it" - Punch
    1. Re:Not this time: by Dunbal · · Score: 2, Insightful

      our surrender will be so quick the French will call US surrender monkeys.

      Sigh. I guess you've never been to Paris, huh? What is the name of that place, ahh yes, Place Charles de Gaulle, there's a big monument there. They call it the arch something. The arch of surrender I think. It symbolizes all the times the French have run away, and all the battles they have lost, around the entire globe, right? Why do they still speak French from the Caribbean, across Africa, to Indo-China, I wonder?

      As for "Case Yellow", I doubt very much that the US would have fared much better had it had Germany for a border instead of Mexico and Canada. In fact, the US generally does very badly when at war unless surrounded with a sea of allies it can shoot at (oops sorry hur hur). Please list the wars won by America since 1946. Back to the trailer park with you.

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      Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
    2. Re:Not this time: by SuricouRaven · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Those two countries were seriously mismatched. Being proud of defeating Iraq and Afganistan is like being proud of beating up someone in a wheelchair.

    3. Re:Not this time: by Big+Smirk · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Ah yes, Charles de Gaulle. When he got France out of NATO, and told US President Johnson that he wanted all US troops out of France, Johnson ask "Does that include the ones buried there?"

      French view of history seems to be very myopic.

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      TODO: create/find/steal funny sig.