eQsat: a satellite feed designed to look like a television station, intended to get news into a country with a total Internet blackout

Over the first 138 days of this year, digital rights group AccessNow estimates there were 80 internet shutdown incidents across 21 countries. Feldstein says that all free internet advocates can do is keep innovating. And, he says, eQsat is a prime example of that.

A team of cybersecurity researchers believe they have come up with a clever new way to fight back: a trojan horse. Specifically, a satellite feed designed to look like a television station, which actually carries a payload of uncensored news and information. It’s a particularly retro solution to a very modern problem.

The program, dubbed eQsat, has been tested and is ready to be put into action during the next internet shutdown—whether it’s in Russian-occupied Ukraine, Iran, or one of the many repressive regimes that regularly block internet access.

It’s true that whilst there is some form of Internet connectivity, it is not too difficult to use various technologies to circumvent the censorships. For example, even the Telegram app, Tor browser and others have such capability built in. Some of it is also disguised to look like normal http traffic. But a complete Internet blackout is a different story.

Traditional radio is still around, but fewer and fewer people actually have good short wave radio receivers, and it’s also true that the more something gets used, the quicker authorities catch onto it. Something being used is also pretty useless if the population has no knowledge about it.

But the old scout motto is still true: Be Prepared! It’s always better to test and prepare for something, than to wait until after the event, and then try to establish communications. As another saying goes: When all else fails, there’s ham radio.

See https://www.wired.com/story/equalitie-trojan-horse-internet-censorship/