Chinese Broadband Satellites May be Beijing's Orbiting Spies

Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:

The multiple constellations of broadband-beaming satellites planned by Chinese companies could conceivably run the nation's "Great Firewall" content censorship system, according to think tank The Australian Strategic Policy Institute. And if they do, using the services outside China will be dangerous.

A Monday note by the Institute's senior fellow Mercedes Page notes that Chinese entities plan to launch and operate three low-Earth-orbit satellite constellations to provide terrestrial internet services. As The Register has reported, the first of 15,000-plus planned satellites launched earlier in August.

Page thinks the satellites show "China is not only securing its position in the satellite internet market but laying the groundwork for expanding its digital governance model far beyond its borders."

"Central to China's ambition is the concept of cyber sovereignty - the notion that each nation has the right to govern its digital domain," she wrote, adding that "China has used this principle to build a heavily censored surveillance system supporting the Chinese Communist Party's power, widely condemned for violating human rights."

Page also notes that satellite broadband services rely on a small number of ground stations, or gateways, and that those facilities are ideal locations to run systems that monitor, block and filter content.

[...] Page also warned "The centralized nature of satellite internet may also make countries more vulnerable to cyber espionage by the Chinese government or malicious actors." Another security risk comes from Chinese laws that require companies to store data within China and make it accessible to the Chinese government. "As China's satellite projects are intended to provide global coverage, the data of international users - spanning communication, location, and internet activity - would be subject to Chinese data laws." And that could mean "Chinese authorities could potentially access any data transmitted through Chinese satellite internet services."

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