Hackers attacked the ALMA radio telescope and it had to stop observations
(ESO/NAOJ/NRAO https://bit.ly/3Tkr5wA)
The ground-based Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) radio telescope system has not been conducting scientific observations since the end of October.
According to the Twitter account of the telescope, there was a hacker attack on the observatory's computers.
The attack did not result in the loss of scientific data, but disrupted the observatory's website and email.
ALMA consists of 66 antennas located on the Chanjnator Plateau in Chile and operating in the interferometer mode in the millimeter and submillimeter wave bands.
It is one of the most important observational instruments in the world of radio astronomy.
ALMA studies nebulae, very young stars and protoplanetary disks, exoplanets, brown dwarfs, solar system objects, and distant galaxies.
The observatory is also part of the EHT Global Telescope project, which provided the first ever image of a black hole.
THE HACK
In the early morning of October 29, the computers of the observatory were hacked by unknown agents.
This did not result in antenna failure or leakage of scientific and technical data, but the telescope's website and internal email were suspended.
Scientific observations were also stopped and have not been resumed so far, the date for the return of the telescope to normal operation has not yet been determined.
The telescope was last shut down for a long time in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Sources:
ALMA’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/almaobs/status/1587777940565155840
Futurism: https://futurism.com/the-byte/hackers-took-down-alma-telescopes
Eldesconcierto.cl: https://www.eldesconcierto.cl/nacional/2022/11/02/hackers-otra-vez-observatorio-alma-acusa-ser-victima-de-ataque-cibernetico.html
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