White House Flags Starlink Security Risk Amid Trump-Musk Feud

America's popular newspaper, The Washington Post, citing several experts from the White House, has reported that Elon Musk's satellite-based internet network, Starlink, poses security risks. Musk is an American billionaire and the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX.

This information comes at a time when the world has been abuzz for the past few days with news of a growing rift between US President Donald Trump and his billionaire friend, Elon Musk.

On Saturday (June 7), in an interview with NBC, US President Donald Trump himself stated that his relationship with billionaire Elon Musk is over. He no longer wishes to restore it.

Though Musk recently criticized Trump's tax and spending bill as "atrocious," Trump responded by saying, "I'm very disappointed because he knew the ins and outs of this bill better than anyone else here. Suddenly, he's having problems with it."

However, Musk has dismissed Trump's claim as false. After Trump's remarks, Musk posted several times on the social media platform X. In these posts, he did not shy away from personally attacking Trump. Without providing evidence, Musk claimed that Trump is in the "Epstein Files."

Meanwhile, former friend Donald Trump has also threatened Elon Musk regarding the businesses that rely on the US government.

Therefore, it's clear to everyone that a major rift has occurred in their relationship. If Trump were to unleash his government against Musk, it's safe to say that the tech billionaire's peace of mind would be disturbed.

Starlink's Security Concerns at the White House
According to a report published by The Washington Post, the news was released based on the statements of three individuals involved when Starlink's internet connection was being provided to the White House. Due to the sensitive nature of the matter, the identities of these three individuals were not disclosed.

However, these three individuals stated that in February, Musk's D.O.G.E. (Department of the Gridiron, an apparent typo, likely meant to be DOD or D.O.G.E. which is an acronym for Dogecoin, the cryptocurrency, but in this context, it likely refers to a team or representatives related to Musk) representatives installed a terminal on the roof of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, next to the White House. But the officials responsible for the White House's communication systems were not informed of the incident in advance.

According to them, the individuals responsible for overseeing the White House's communication systems lack the capability to prevent sensitive information from leaking out or hackers from infiltrating through such connections.

Based on the information from these three White House individuals, in February, a Wi-Fi network named "Starlink Guest" appeared on mobile phones within the White House complex, which only required a password. There was no username or second-level verification process. This Wi-Fi network was still available at the White House last week.

One of the officials stated that the computers used by staff are locked with strict security programs. Any communication they have with the outside world is also monitored. "But with Starlink, nothing is required. It allows you to send information in a way where there's no record or tracking," he said.

He further added that the network has strong control over the White House's IT system. It always needs to be in a full VPN tunnel. If you are not on the VPN, White House devices will not work with external internet connections.

Another of the three individuals said that the Starlink connection does not prevent White House devices from accessing external networks. This helps bypass security measures.

The Washington Post report stated that they sought a statement from the White House on this matter, but they referred the matter to the US Secret Service. The Secret Service stated that due to security reasons, they are not authorized to comment on specific technical arrangements.

Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said, "We were aware that D.O.G.E. (likely the same typo as above) was seeking to improve internet connectivity at the White House complex, and we did not consider it a security threat."

Furthermore, The Washington Post claimed that they attempted to contact Starlink regarding this matter. However, there was no response from Starlink.

Although Elon Musk's company has always maintained that their satellite connections are relatively difficult to hack.