US: Mysterious hackers temporarily shut down 2 of the most advanced telescopes; probe on

Recently, one of the world's leading astronomical observatoriesreported cyberattacks that temporarily shut down two of its telescopes. The United States-based National Science Foundation's National Optical-Infared Astronomy Research Laboratory or NOIRLab confirmed the news in its statement, Space.com reported.

NOIRLabon its website said, "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."

The space company added that the cybersecurity incident occurred on August 1, which temporarily haltedfunctions at its Gemini North Telescope and Gemini South Chile in Hawaii and Chile respectively.

The incident happened just days before the United States Nations Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) issued a two-page bulletin advising space agency companies and research organisations about the threat of espionage and cyberattacks.

The bulletin read, "Foreign spies and hackers recognise the importance of the commercial space industry to the US economy and national security, including the growing dependence of critical infrastructure on space-based assets. They see US space-related innovation and assets as potential threats as well as valuable opportunities to acquire vital technologies and expertise."

An official told the news agency Reuters, "We anticipate growing threats to this burgeoning sector of the US economy."

Motive not identified; probe on

The authorities are still unclear on the motive and place from where the cyberattack occurred. They added that the investigation is still on and the organisation will now be more cautious about what information it shares.

"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."

This isn't the first time that astronomical observatories have been the target of cyberattacks.

Back in October 2022, hackers disrupted operations at the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile and US NASA had also been a victim of cyberattacks for years. In 2021, it was affected by a worldwide SolarWinds breach.

(With inputs from agencies)

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