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arXiv · 2608.16839

Expanding Access, Exposing Risk: A Short Study of Exposed Starlink Hosts

Omar Elamri·Isaac-Neil Zanoria·Jacob Zhi·Ben Du·Liz Izhikevich
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Abstract

In this very short paper, we present a measurement-driven analysis of the security characteristics of Starlink-connected hosts and uncover several concerning trends. We find that Starlink hosts are more likely to run outdated or vulnerable operating systems and network protocols than non-Starlink hosts. Regions like Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Eastern Europe show disproportionately higher risk. Our findings raise important questions for the Internet measurement and policy communities.

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Omar Elamri, Isaac-Neil Zanoria, Jacob Zhi, Ben Du, Liz Izhikevich. 2026-08-17. Expanding Access, Exposing Risk: A Short Study of Exposed Starlink Hosts. https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.16839

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