Chinese nationals arrested and charged in Starlink data theft investigations

French authorities charged four people with spying for China, after the convicts were detained from an Airbnb in Southwest France two days ago. The Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed Thursday that two suspects were placed in custody, while two others are under judicial supervision.

According to Bloomberg, the four individuals were arrested on Wednesday in an investigation into data theft from Elon Musk’s satellite internet provider, Starlink. French prosecutors said the suspects were also interested in matters of national security, including military communications. 

Chinese arrested and charged in Starlink data theft investigations 

Two Chinese nationals in France, believed to be part of a country-led espionage conspiracy, allegedly attempted to obtain satellite data from Starlink systems. The authorities’ probe included allegations of illegal transfers of information to foreign entities and unlawful data extraction. 

The investigation began on January 30 after police received reports of suspicious activity by Chinese nationals, supposedly staying at an Airbnb property in Gironde, Southwest France. Prosecutors told reporters that the pair were conducting satellite interception at the rented residence, where they also found two other individuals who arrived later.

Those two had illegally imported specialized technical equipment, including a used Starlink antenna and a satellite signal display device capable of intercepting satellite downlinks. 

“The device installed was used to illegally intercept satellite downlinks, including exchanges between military entities of vital importance,” the prosecutor’s statement said.

Visa records showed that the Chinese nationals were part of an engineering company involved in wireless communications and satellite systems. Their applications said the firm worked on “smart beams, signal recognition and satellite networks, and cooperates with universities establishing military-oriented projects.” Some of the suspects told authorities they were trying to “understand Starlink’s technology.” 

French officials have not publicly linked the suspects to any state institution, but all four of them were presented before an examining judge earlier this week, Bloomberg reported.

Is China trying to bring down Starlink? 

The alleged espionage comes at a time when Chinese researchers have reportedly developed a so-called “Starlink killer,” a device known as the TPG1000Cs. According to the South China Morning Post, citing the Northwest Institute of Nuclear Technology, the system can generate 20 gigawatts of power for one minute. 

The scientists said TPG1000Cs is a compact power source for high-power microwave weapons. It measures four meters in length and weighs around five tons, enough to be mounted on trucks, warships, or aircraft. It could also be launched into orbit. 

High-power microwave weapons disable electronic systems by channeling concentrated radiofrequency energy into equipment through antennas, cables, and structural gaps. The energy has damaging voltage spikes that disrupt or permanently damage components.

China’s TPG1000Cs system is meant to be an advancement over the previously launched Hurricane-series microwave weapons. Those systems were only equipped to handle short-range drone defense at distances of two to three kilometers. 

A research team led by Wang Gang reported that the system can emit up to 3,000 high-energy pulses per operating cycle. The team said the device has already completed more than 200,000 test pulses and has shown consistent performance stability.

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