Advanced ALMA Telescope Falls Prey To Hackers; Operations Suspended

Photo Credit: ALMA/ESO

The Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) Observatory in Chile has become the latest victim of cybercrime. Hackers have managed to get into the system and take down the observatory's website, forcing it to suspend all operations. The hack has also affected its email services.

Fortunately, ALMA’s array of 66 high-precision antennas, each with a diameter of around 40 feet, wasn’t affected by the hack, the observatory noted. Besides, the hack also didn’t compromise the scientific data collected through its instruments.

What Makes ALMA Important For Astronomy?

ALMA is invaluable for astronomy due to its ability to observe the light of the cooler objects in the universe, namely dust, and gas. This ability allows the observatory to chronicle breathtaking formations of stars and planets when they first emerge inside gas clouds.

The suspension of ALMA’s operation could be a huge setback, especially for the thousands of scientists across the world that completely depend on its observations and around 300 experts working onsite.

Fixing the issues and getting the telescope up and running is currently the top priority. However, the observatory has tweeted, "It is not yet possible to estimate a date for a return to regular activities." Currently, there is no update on the hackers and how they pulled off the attack. Their motive behind the cyberattack also remains a mystery.

ALMA's Major Contributions

The advanced observatory is situated on a plateau in the Chilean Andes, which is more than 16,000 feet above sea level. ALMA is among the most advanced radio telescopes across the globe. However, the cyberattack has managed to cripple it for the time being.

The Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) helped capture the first image of a black hole in 2019, in a collaboration that brought together several radio telescopes around the world into forming the Event Horizon Telescope.

After going fully operational in 2013, ALMA became one of the largest ground-based astronomical projects globally, as per the European Southern Observatory that primarily operates ALMA.

Cyberattacks On The Rise

Cyberattacks seem to have grown significantly in the past few years. According to an analysis by cybersecurity firm Seon, cyberattacks have doubled since 2021. Given the growth in the number of people on the internet is relatively slower, the risk of being targeted by these attacks is growing at an alarming rate.

With new methods of shopping and making online payments coming in, fraud against banks, firms, and individuals is at an all-time high. The most common cyberattacks mentioned in the report were malware, fishing, and ransomware. Now seems the right time to double up on online security.