In 2023, something very strange and risky happened aboard a U.S. Navy ship called the USS Manchester. Some senior sailors, known as chiefs, secretly installed a Starlink satellite internet antenna on the ship without permission. This satellite was supposed to be used to improve the ship's internet, but these chiefs had their own plans: they wanted to stream movies, check sports scores, and text their families. They did all of this behind the back of the ship’s captain.

This sneaky setup, which included a WiFi network named "STINKY," was incredibly dangerous. Navy ships are supposed to follow strict rules to stay hidden from enemies and protect against cyberattacks, but this illegal antenna broke those rules. The network could have made the ship easier for enemies to find and exposed it to hackers, putting the whole crew at risk. It’s hard to believe that something like this could happen, but it did.

A stock picture of the USS Manchester taken in 2018. USN

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