--- title: "Mysterious Hackers Are Targeting Space Telescopes" description: "For weeks, hackers have been targeting major telescopes in Hawaii and Chile, forcing scientists to suspend all observations." date: "2023-08-22" modified: "2023-08-22" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/mysterious-hackers-targeting-space-telescopes" categories: - "Cybersecurity" - "Future Society" - "Hacking" tags: - "Astronomy" - "cyberattacks" - "gemini north telescope" - "the digest" --- # Mysterious Hackers Are Targeting Space Telescopes ![For weeks, hackers have been targeting major telescopes in Hawaii and Chile, forcing scientists to suspend all observations.]() *\Image: NOIRLab / Futurism\* ## 360 No Scope For at least the last three weeks, hackers have been targeting major telescopes in Hawaii and Chile, forcing scientists to temporarily put ten observatories out of commission. Remote operations have also been shut down at a few others. It's a mysterious development that has researchers hunting for answers, [*Science* reports]() — let alone a motive. Why would somebody intentionally try to shut down astronomical research? The suspension has already interrupted a number of international projects, including doctoral theses and other papers. Bewildered, researchers are now racing to find ways to tighten up cybersecurity and resume observations. And for a lot of research, it may already be too late. Many observations are tightly scheduled, leaving researchers with narrow time windows, many of which have already closed. ## Cyber Incident The extent of the fallout is baffling. Earlier this month, NOIRLab, a federally supported research lab, [announced]() that its Gemini North telescope in Hawaii had been shut down as a result of a "cyber incident." Its twin telescope, Gemini South, followed. A week later, NOIRLab cut off astronomers from remotely accessing the controls of yet another network of telescopes called the Mid-Scale Observatories in Chile. Eight other telescopes in the country had to suspend operations as well. Mysteriously, NOIRLab refused to elaborate on the nature of the cyberattack or clarify whether the attackers were asking for a ransom. NOIRLab has since proposed to send out a team of graduate students to Chile with the hopes of resuming in-person observations. ## Digital Fortress Others questioned whether the hackers even know what they're doing. "Quite possibly, the attacker doesn’t even know they are attacking an observatory," Von Welch, retired lead of the NSF Cybersecurity Center of Excellence, told *Science*. It's an unusual situation for astronomers to find themselves in, as cyberattacks aren't usually part of their job description. But the incident will likely serve as motivation to batten down the hatches. "When people are like, 'Oh, where’s the data?' Then I’ll have to say, 'Well, I don’t have any data because a hacker somewhere took down the computer,'" Luis Welbanks, an astronomy postdoc at Arizona State University, who uses ground-based observations to study the atmospheres of exoplanets, told *Science*. "I don’t know if any hiring committee will be sympathetic to that." **More on cyberattacks:** *[AI Knows What You're Typing Just By Hearing It Over a Zoom]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()