The warning came days after an internet security researcher
warned that devices used for satellite communications could become
"beacons" that Russia could target for airstrikes.
"Important warning: Starlink is the only non-Russian
communications system still working in some parts of Ukraine, so probability of
being targeted is high. Please use with caution," Musk tweeted.
He asked users to "turn on Starlink only when needed
and place antenna away as far away from people as possible" and
"place light camouflage over antenna to avoid visual detection."
On Saturday, Musk said Starlink was activated in Ukraine and
SpaceX was sending more terminals to the country, responding to a tweet by a
Ukraine government official who asked Musk to provide the embattled country
with Starlink stations.
On Monday, Ukraine said it had received donated Starlink
satellite internet terminals, but an internet security researcher warned these
could become Russian targets.
"If Putin controls the air above Ukraine, users' uplink
transmissions become beacons... for airstrikes," John Scott-Railton, a
senior researcher at the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab project, tweeted.
"Russia has decades of experience hitting people by
targeting their satellite communications," he added in a series of 15
tweets detailing the risks.
Ukraine Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov thanked
Starlink for "keeping our cities connected and emergency services saving
lives!" But he said the country needs generators to keep Starlink service
online due to Russian attacks on infrastructure.
In response, Musk said SpaceX was updating software to
reduce peak power consumption, so Starlink can be powered from car cigarette
lighters.
"Mobile roaming enabled, so phased array antenna can
maintain signal while on moving vehicle," he said.
Tim Farrar, a consultant in satellite communications, said
Starlink antennas, which look like home satellite television dishes, are not
designed to be used while in motion, and it was not clear what Musk meant by
the tweet.
Russia and Ukraine have agreed on the need to set up
humanitarian corridors and a possible ceasefire around them for fleeing
civilians, both sides said after talks on Thursday, in their first sign of
progress on any issue since the invasion, which Moscow calls a "special
operation." - Reuters
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