A cyberattack has forced the International Meteor Organization (IMO), one of the leading providers of meteor observation, to take much of the website offline.
Founded in 1988, the Belgium-based independent organization reported that the cyberattack caused severe damage to the aging infrastructure and left the organization dealing with several weeks of partial downtime as it transitions to new infrastructure.
The organization has replaced its website with a static notice informing the visitors about the incident and warning that features will return gradually.
“We recently suffered a cyberattack that dealt a critical blow to aging infrastructure, taking much of our site offline,” the organization said. It explained that it expects several weeks of partial downtime while transitioning to new infrastructure and services.
The IMO has prioritized restoring its fireball reporting system which is already available for users to submit their observations. The organization also shared its meteor and asteroid-related information on its Facebook page.
The IMO was formed to bring amateur and professional meteor observers and scientists together. The organization has played an essential role in the development of international standards for meteor observations and the maintenance of a global database of meteor and fireball reports containing photographs, videos and telescopic observations.
The organization has not publicly identified those responsible for the attack, and no hacking group had claimed responsibility as of Wednesday afternoon. The organization also did not respond to requests for additional comment.
The incident comes shortly before the IMO’s annual international conference that is set to take place next week in France.
It is unclear if the cyberattack will impact the event or the organization’s other activities.
The incident also shows the growing interest of cybercriminals in targeting organizations involved in space and scientific research. U.S. agencies have warned that the rising economic importance of the space industry can attract attackers and organizations that engage in space-related activities can become potential targets.
Attackers have targeted the National Science Foundation’s National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory in Hawai’i and the Atacama Large Millimeter Array observatory in Chile in 2023.
The American Meteorological Society was also targeted by ransomware in the same year.
For now, the IMO is focused on rebuilding its infrastructure and restoring the services after the attack, with additional website features expected to return as the transition progresses.
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