NASA remotely reprogramming Voyager 1 also means that aliens can reprogram all of our satellites.

  • Smuuthbrane
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    627 months ago

    By extension that means we can also reprogram alien satellites and probes. So why aren’t we??

  • Boozilla
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    367 months ago

    They should make a Star Trek movie about this!

    Oh, wait…

  • @[email protected]
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    347 months ago

    This is assuming that they would know and understand the code. Also, that nothing is encrypted but I guess encryption can be broken.

      • @[email protected]
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        297 months ago

        The ultimate security by obscurity. Do you have a 30m antenna? Can you point it exactly at the space ship with almost no error? Do you know what it’s code and protocols are? OK, please reprogram Voyager

      • @[email protected]
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        107 months ago

        OP says reprogram all of the satellites. So I would assume that would include the modern ones with encryption as well.

          • andrew
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            87 months ago

            Actually it’s Admin47 now because of the yearly password change requirement.

        • @[email protected]
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          67 months ago

          I would guess not. Any authentication scheme would just be another risk point to not be able to talk to the thing from earth.

          But I’m just guessing.

            • Possibly linux
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              7 months ago

              That’s actually a good point. However, the technology and conceptual understanding of encryption was not really a thing in 1970

              Sure encryption was around but it was mostly people with code books

  • Björn Tantau
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    297 months ago

    Yes, one entity being able to reprogram one piece of tech definitely means another entity is able to reprogram every other piece of tech that is slightly related.

  • @[email protected]
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    277 months ago

    I mean, sure, technically. They’d have to know English, know the programming language that was used for the probe, know the transmission frequency that the probe accepts, know the boundaries and limitations of the probe so that they don’t actually force any errors, and presumably would need to crack the encryption preventing anyone else from reprogramming Voyager 1. They’d also either need to be able to generate incredibly strong radio waves through space in order to transmit their code, or they’d need to be close enough to us that we’d be able to detect their presence.

    While that’s all technically possible, the odds of it happening are pretty low.

    • @[email protected]
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      167 months ago

      Crack encryption from the mid 70’s? If there even is any on the Voyager command signal, I couldn’t find a reference to any. But if there is, I’d think modern computers are up to the task.

      They’d also either need to be able to generate incredibly strong radio waves through space

      My guess is that THIS is the actual security feature.

      Not to mention… who would even want to? There’s nothing to gain except slight infamy, if you could even prove you were behind it.

  • @[email protected]
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    197 months ago

    the existence of viruses and zero day exploits probably also means aliens can reprogram your mom’s laptop but why would they want to?

  • @RootAccess
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    187 months ago

    Any alien species that is aware of our satellites is so technically superior to us they wouldn’t bother. The James Webb Telecope is our best, but we still aren’t certain we’ve named all the planets in our own solar system.

  • @[email protected]
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    167 months ago

    I saw a movie with Will Smith where aliens used TCPv4 to communicate their systems. So, why not?

  • Krafty Kactus
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    127 months ago

    Probably not all of them. The Voyager probes were launched in the 70s and they don’t exactly need much encryption because they can only be programmed by someone with a massive transmitter.

  • CRUMBGRABBEROP
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    97 months ago

    As a member of the deep state, I can confirm this is true.

  • @[email protected]
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    57 months ago

    All I can think of is alien adolescents reprogramming them to mess with humans. Fake invasion messages, alien memes. Like cowtipoing, but screwing with humans instead