Trump to Keep Starlink at White House Despite Cybersecurity Concern

President Trump plans to keep a Starlink dish at the White House, despite concerns that the satellite internet system could pose a cybersecurity risk. 

“I don’t think we’ll be doing that with Starlink. It’s a good service,” Trump said during a press conference after he was asked about removing the dish.  

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The Washington Post reports that Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) ignored security advice from White House IT experts about installing the Starlink dish on the nearby Eisenhower Executive Office Building in February. Starlink appears as a Wi-Fi hotspot and is secured by a single password rather than the trackable name-and-password combinations the White House requires for Wi-Fi connections. White House protocols also require that IT systems be installed with extensive security software. 

In contrast, Oval Office staff haven’t been able to monitor connections to the Starlink dish, giving them no way to stop hackers or shut down any sensitive information flowing through the terminal, according to the Post.

In late March, Musk tweeted that Starlink access was necessary at the White House because of poor service. “It was literally impossible to communicate in some parts of the White House!” he wrote. That came after Musk changed his X bio to “White House Tech Support.”

Musk and Trump, of course, are now on the outs. But after the two exchanged a flurry of combative statements and tweets, ostensibly over a pending spending bill, Trump signed this week that he wants to de-escalate.

On the prospect of selling the Tesla he purchased in March, Trump suggested he would instead remove it from the White House grounds. “I have a lot of locations [where the Tesla could go],” he said. “I got so many locations I don’t know what to do with them all.”

“Look, I wish [Musk] well.” he added. “We had a good relationship and I just wish him well. Very well actually,” However, the president refrained from saying he’d like to speak with Musk. “I haven’t really thought about it actually. I would imagine he wants to speak with me.”

About Michael Kan

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I’ve been working as a journalist for over 15 years—I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017.

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