SpaceX says to give $25,000 to bug finders, researchers welcome to hack Starlink

SpaceX has said that it is willing to pay up to $25,000 to responsible researchers for discovering certain bugs within Starlink, its satellite internet network.

They are welcome to hack into the service, it said.

The company's announcement came after Lannert Wouters, a security researcher, last week said that he hacked into Starlink, and used a $25 homemade device in the process.

He performed the test as part of the bug bounty program of SpaceX, where researchers submit potential vulnerability findings in the network of Starlink, he said.

Entitled "Starlink welcomes security researchers (bring on the bugs)," the six-page document also praised Wouters regarding his research.

"We find the attack to be technically impressive, and is the first attack of its kind that we are aware of in our system," SpaceX said.

"Wouters' hack involving a homemade circuit board shouldn't worry any Starlink users and won't directly affect the satellites," the company added in the document.

"We allow responsible security researchers to do their own testing, and we provide monetary rewards when they find and report vulnerabilities."

The bug bounty website of SpaceX says that the researchers who conduct non-disruptive tests on Starlink and report the findings and vulnerabilities can be rewarded between $100 and $25,000.