Credit: Mishaal Rahman / Android AuthorityTL;DRResearchers intercepted T-Mobile call and text data using an $800 off-the-shelf satellite setup.Around half of the satellite links they scanned were unencrypted, including military data.T-Mobile fixed the issue after being alerted in December 2024.In an eye-opening privacy revelation, it turns out some of the world’s most sensitive communications were far less secure than you’d hope. A team of researchers has shown that even major carriers like T-Mobile were broadcasting calls and text messages over satellites without encryption. All it took to intercept them was around $800 worth of off-the-shelf hardware.According to a study by researchers at UC San Diego and the University of Maryland, as reported by Wired, roughly half of all geostationary satellite signals they scanned were sent unencrypted. Over the course of three years, the team, led by UCSD professor Aaron Schulman, pointed a standard satellite dish at the sky from a building in La Jolla, California, and recorded data from 39 satellites. What they found was unprotected T-Mobile phone calls and SMS messages, airline Wi-Fi activity, corporate and banking data, and even US and Mexican military communications.