Concerns are growing over Starlink terminals that have fallen into the hands of a Sudanese insurgent group known as the Rapid Support Forces.
It has also emerged that the same pricey Starlink gadgets are in the hands of Russians currently fighting inside Ukraine.
Ukrainian military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov told media in February that Russian forces were using thousands of Starlink terminals in Ukraine.
Russian intermediaries allegedly purchase Starlink hardware on online retail platforms, including eBay, in the U.S. or on the black market in Central Asia, Dubai, or Southeast Asia and subsequently smuggle the equipment to Russia and other cleints.
Russian volunteers then deliver Starlink terminals to troops fighting in Ukraine, helping Russian forces with communication and drone control according to intel.
However, SpaceX previously said it can make its devices unavailable in specific locations or basically “geofence” their devices.
The cunning middlemen have a way around all these bottlenecks. The dealer purchases Starlink devices and registers them in countries where they are permitted. Sudanese insurgents and Russian end-users connect to Starlink through the roaming feature.
According to intelligence investigations, Russian Starlink dealers also claim that Crimea or Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine are no longer geofenced, allowing Russian troops to use the devices.
The Rapid Support Forces allegedly enjoy the support of Russian mercenary Wagner Group and this could have been their access to Starlink devices.
Elon Musk, the founder of the SpaceX company that operates Starlink, has denied selling any Starlink units to Russia and said that Starlink would not connect to any devices there.
