The team from UC San Diego and the University of Maryland spent three years using an $800 off-the-shelf satellite receiver to intercept transmissions. They discovered large volumes of unencrypted voice calls, text messages, in-flight Wi-Fi traffic, and critical infrastructure communications between utilities and offshore oil platforms.

The findings, first reported by Wired, prompted some companies, including T-Mobile and AT&T Mexico, to begin encrypting their satellite data. But the researchers warned that many critical infrastructure providers have yet to act, meaning vast amounts of data will remain exposed for years.

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