Some things are said to be written in the stars, but hackers shutting down two of the world's most advanced telescopes last month, clearly wasn’t one of them. The Nat’l Science Foundation's Nat’l Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NOIRLab), reported a cybersecurity incident on Aug. 1 prompting the lab to temporarily halt operations at its Gemini North Telescope in Hawaii & Gemini South Telescope in Chile. Smaller telescopes on Cerro Tololo in Chile were also affected. The cyberattacks on NOIRLab's facilities occurred days before the United States National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) issued a bulletin advising American space companies & research organizations about the threat of cyberattacks & espionage. Foreign spies & hackers recognize the criticality of the commercial space industry to the U.S. economy & national security. American space innovation & assets are seen as threats, but are also valuable opportunities to acquire vital technologies & expertise. Authorities say the origin & nature of the cyberattacks is unclear with an investigation still ongoing. This isn't the first time stellar observatories have been the target of cyberattacks. In Oct. 2022, hackers disrupted operations at the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile, & NASA has been the victim of cyberattacks for years. In 2021, the agency was affected by the worldwide SolarWinds breach that NASA leadership called a "big wakeup call" for cybersecurity.
