Cyberattack Shuts Down Two of World's Leading Telescopes

Two of the world’s most advanced astronomical telescopes, the Gemini North Telescope in Hawaii and the Gemini South Telescope in Chile, have been temporarily shut down due to a cyberattack.

Space.com reports that the National Science Foundation’s National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NOIRLab) recently reported a cybersecurity incident that led to the temporary suspension of operations at its Gemini North and South Telescopes. The cyberattacks also impacted smaller telescopes located on Cerro Tololo in Chile. “Our staff are working with cybersecurity experts to get all the impacted telescopes and our website back online as soon as possible and are encouraged by the progress made thus far,” said a statement from NOIRLab.

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The exact nature and origin of these cyberattacks are still under investigation. NOIRLab has been cautious about the information it is releasing. “We plan to provide the community with more information when we are able to, in alignment with our commitment to transparency as well as our dedication to the security of our infrastructure,” the organization added in its update.

Interestingly, the cyberattacks on NOIRLab’s facilities occurred just days before the United States National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) issued a bulletin warning American space companies and research organizations about the threat of cyberattacks and espionage. The bulletin highlighted that foreign spies and hackers “recognize the importance of the commercial space industry to the U.S. economy and national security, including the growing dependence of critical infrastructure on space-based assets.”

This is not an isolated event in the realm of astronomical observatories. In October 2022, hackers disrupted operations at the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile. Moreover, NASA has been a frequent target of cyberattacks, including being affected by the worldwide SolarWinds breach in 2021, which was called a “big wakeup call” for cybersecurity.

Breitbart News reported extensively on the SolarWinds hack in 2021:

According to the U.S. government, the hack — which is suspected to have been orchestrated by Russia — breached SolarWinds’ software, giving hackers access to thousands of companies, including several U.S. government agencies.

The hackers obtained access to emails at the U.S. Treasury, Justice, and Commerce departments, as well as other agencies. It is believed that the hackers’ goal was to seek intelligence, rather than conduct any type of immediate destruction, according to a report by Reuters.

The breach could have compromised up to 18,000 SolarWinds customers that used the company’s Orion network monitoring software, and likely took the work of hundreds — maybe even more than a thousand — engineers.