381
submitted 2 months ago by TheOne@lemmy.blahaj.zone to c/world@lemmy.world
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip 2 points 2 months ago

The problem is that both sides are using it and both sides are in the same general area. So cutting off a device on Russian soil could very well be a special forces group planning sabotage.

There are definitely solutions but they all involve giving a Russian agent direct knowledge of troop movements.

[-] commandar@lemmy.world 41 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

There are definitely solutions but they all involve giving a Russian agent direct knowledge of troop movements.

Starlink terminals are activated using a unique identifier. It's how billing works.

SpaceX knows which terminals have been provided to Ukraine. We know they can geofence service. Geofencing the Ukrainian theater to terminals that were provided to Ukraine shouldn't be a massive technical leap and doesn't provide any information they don't already have.

[-] halcyoncmdr@lemmy.world 19 points 2 months ago

SpaceX knows which terminals have been provided to Ukraine.

They know which ones they've provided to Ukraine. Hardware like that has been and is still being donated through third parties daily.

Now, they could have Ukraine tell them which terminals are in use, including anything they've gotten from elsewhere, including stolen back from Russia, and use that to manage, but that would require the CEO of the company to actually want to help honestly.

[-] commandar@lemmy.world 8 points 2 months ago

Hardware like that has been and is still being donated through third parties daily.

It's more in Ukraine's interest to limit the use of Starlink to only those terminals that have been vetted through official channels than to allow blanket use and try to filter out things through other means due to... the exact kinds of situations this article is talking about.

but that would require the CEO of the company to actually want to help honestly.

Sure. And part of the reason we know Starlink is entirely capable of geofencing is because Elon's done it explicitly to stop Ukraine from being able to operate near Crimea. That whole kerfuffle lead to military usage being pushed over to Starshield and a contract with the US government that gives them explicit say on when and where Starlink works in Ukraine.

Elon is dumber than a bag of hammers but it'd be next level stupid even for him to willingly break a DOD contract, especially when people were already floating the idea of invoking the Defense Production Act last time around.

Precisely. It’s not rocket science. And SpaceX is literally doing rocket science. This is a fully solvable problem. Eel on musk just doesn’t want to solve it.

[-] NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip 4 points 2 months ago

For very obvious reasons, Ukraine may not want musk to have every single units position. Let alone groups that supplemented their own resources with Amazon.

Could starlink figure this out? Yes. But it would make everyone involved uncomfortable to know the theoretical has become documented and easily searchable.

[-] piecat@lemmy.world 3 points 2 months ago

I bet money Russia starts getting absurdly good. And they'll have really good info. And it will be because of starlink.

[-] tophneal@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Location info shouldn't be needed, though. (Even though they should technically be able retrieve location data from any terminal on their own already. It's all their hardware and network.) They should be able to geoblock traffic from Ukraine/Russia while having a kind of Allow filter for the terminals they know they provided for use by Ukraine.

It's the same concept as blocking a country's domains but allowing certain domains of that country through for emails. They just need to setup a "spam" filter.

[-] NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip 2 points 2 months ago

Again, that assumes that Ukraine want a company run by a Russian asset to know every single device.

But also? There is a lot of value in civilians being able to reach the outside world as well. Especially under an occupation.

[-] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 2 months ago

You know what's weird? There's an Xfinity wi-fi access point near me, but unless I have the right credentials, I can't log in.

Yet I'm in the same area as others who can log in. What gives????

Almost like, I dunno, there are other ways to block people besides being completely location-based. Especially when we are talking about military-use.

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago

I would think you could wait until Russia took over a town and then cut off Starlink to that town until Ukraine makes advances.

[-] NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip 4 points 2 months ago

Same problem

"Hey musk? Could you restore service to this town at 2 am on Wednesday? No reason but also please don't tell putin or trump."

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago

Cool, except that's what I'm saying. I'm saying the Ukraine military tells Starlink where the Russians are and they block them. Then if they move, the Ukraine military tells them that. I'm guessing Putin already knows where his own troops are and I'm guessing Starlink has a phone number, as does the Ukrainian military.

[-] NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip 0 points 2 months ago

Why would Russia move? I'll give you a hint: it involves shooting at them.

So unless Ukraine wants to not be able to communicate with recon units before every attack...

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago

So unless Ukraine wants to not be able to communicate with recon units before every attack…

You mean like with a phone? You're right, not possible.

this post was submitted on 14 Oct 2024
381 points (98.5% liked)

World News

39347 readers
2267 users here now

A community for discussing events around the World

Rules:

Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.


Lemmy World Partners

News !news@lemmy.world

Politics !politics@lemmy.world

World Politics !globalpolitics@lemmy.world


Recommendations

For Firefox users, there is media bias / propaganda / fact check plugin.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/media-bias-fact-check/

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS