An Italian hacker group, Mhackeroni, has successfully taken control of the American government’s satellite, Moonlighter. Comprising researchers and students from various Italian universities, including the Politecnico di Milano, the group’s achievement has been lauded by the rector of the university, Donatella Sciuto. The hacking was not only legal but also pre-approved by the American authorities. In fact, the Pentagon was aware of the entire operation and had hoped for it to happen. Mhackeroni will be rewarded with a $50,000 prize from the US Department of Defense and the US Air Force for winning the “Hack-A-Sat” competition at Def Con.
The competition took place in Las Vegas and had five finalist hacker groups, selected after a rigorous elimination round involving hundreds of teams worldwide. Besides the Italian team Mhackeroni, the finalists included the Polish team “Poland can into Space” (second place), the Swiss team “PFS” (third place), the German team “Krautsat,” and the American team “SpaceBitsRUs.”
The US government had specially launched the Moonlighter satellite to test their security systems and identify potential vulnerabilities. The hacking was part of an ethical hacking initiative where experts identify and report vulnerabilities within a computer system.
The competition began on August 11 and concluded on August 13 with the publication of photographs taken by the three finalists from the satellite. The Italian team Mhackeroni’s image was also shared on the official Twitter account of the competition.
The US Space Force congratulated the winners, including Professor Stefano Zanero of the Politecnico di Milano, one of Italy’s leading cybersecurity experts. This event highlights the importance of ethical hacking in identifying and addressing vulnerabilities in critical systems, ensuring their security and reliability.
Source: Open
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