Oxford Researcher Talks Satellite Eavesdropping on Aircraft Connectivity

On this episode of the Connected Aircraft Podcast, James Pavur, an Oxford University cybersecurity researcher and PhD student provides insights into his experience performing "satellite eavesdropping" on aircraft in-flight Internet data.

Pavur was part of a team of European experts that used home television equipment and specialized software to enable satellite eavesdropping on in-flight passenger Internet data, as Pavur demonstrated during a live presentation at Black Hat 2020. The team’s setup included a Selfsat satellite dish with a TBS-6983/6903 PCIe card/Digital Video Broadcast-Satellite tuner computer card.

Using the dish and tuner in combination with a program called EBS Pro that enables personal computer users to find and view satellite television feeds, Pavur's team was able to analyze 4 terabytes of data on signals from 18 satellites in geostationary orbit.

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