Nonprofit that tracks meteors taken down by "critical blow" from a cyberattack
Summary
The International Meteor Organization (IMO), which collects and shares information about meteors, was hit by a cyberattack that damaged its computer systems and took much of its website offline. The group expects partial downtime for several weeks while it fixes its systems and continues to collect important fireball sightings during this time.Key Facts
- The IMO is a nonprofit group that gathers reports on meteors from both amateurs and professionals around the world.
- A cyberattack caused serious damage to the IMO’s aging computer systems, resulting in much of its website being offline.
- The IMO expects to have partial service interruptions for several weeks as it moves to new systems.
- The organization is still prioritizing the collection of fireball meteor reports and shares updates on its Facebook page.
- The IMO was officially formed in 1988 and sets standards for reporting meteor observations.
- Attacks on space-related organizations are rare but have happened before, such as with NASA and other observatories.
- No one has claimed responsibility for the attack on the IMO, and no ransom demands have been reported.
- In 2023, U.S. agencies warned that space organizations could be targets of hackers supported by foreign governments.
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