"ALMA Still Recovering From Devastating Cyberattack"

The Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile is still offline more than a month after a ransomware cyberattack on its computer systems. The disruption is interfering with astronomers' research projects worldwide and costs the observatory about a quarter-million dollars per day. When a number of ALMA users' computer tools stopped working on October 29, they realized the network had been attacked. Technicians isolated parts of their network that had been hacked, removing the need to pay a ransom. Although the attack did not reach the antennas or the correlator supporting observational data, ALMA has yet to resume operations. ALMA, which cost $1.4 billion to build, is one of the world's largest telescopes. It involves 66 large radio dishes in northern Chile's Atacama Desert. The dishes work as one telescope, observing at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths. These wavelengths fall between radio and IR, making them particularly useful for studying star and galaxy formation. The European Southern Observatory (ESO), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the National Institutes of Natural Sciences (NINS) operate the telescope in collaboration with the Republic of Chile. ALMA data is accessible to thousands of astronomers from around the world. The spread of the collaboration is one of the factors that allowed cybercriminals to gain a foothold in the organization. The hackers gained access to the system via a Virtual Private Network (VPN), most likely using stolen credentials. According to the ALMA director Sean Dougherty, the threat actors carried out a sophisticated attack that has been used to exploit more than 1,300 companies worldwide and extract approximately $100 million in ransom payments. While many science facilities around the world face attempted cyberattacks on a daily basis, ALMA is one of the first to suffer such a major breach. According to an NSF spokesperson, the agency is not aware of any significant cyberattacks against its facilities prior to the ALMA incident. This article continues to discuss the continued impact of the ransomware attack faced by ALMA. 

Physics Today reports "ALMA Still Recovering From Devastating Cyberattack"