Cyberattack interrupts the American Radio Relay League

The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) revealed that it suffered an IT interruption after a cyberattack compromised IT systems and internet operations, including email and the Logbook of the World.

This recently affected entity is the primary amateur radio group in the United States. It represents amateur radio enthusiasts to government regulatory agencies, provides technical assistance, and promotes nationwide events and instructional programs for amateurs.

 

The American Radio Relay League stated that it identified the cyberattack last week.

 

The American Radio Relay League reported last week that it experienced a cyberattack that damaged its network and systems, including several internet services.

This entity also explained that they are in the process of responding to the incident involving access to their network and headquarters-based systems. In addition, several of their services, such as Logbook of The World and the ARRL Learning Center, became subjects of the cyberattack.

Amateur radio enthusiasts use three-character codes beginning with the letter Q, known as “Q” signals, to abbreviate commonly used words in ham radio. For example, the code QSO indicates that the radio can communicate with a caller directly or refers to a direct discussion between two stations. Another example is that the code QSL signifies that the radio admin acknowledges a receipt, indicating that contact has been confirmed.

Logbook of The World (LoTW) is an online database that enables amateur radio operators to upload electronic logs of successful contacts (QSO) and confirmations (QSL) with other users globally. LoTW enthusiasts can use these logs of successful communication to earn operator rewards.

In a recent update, the ARRL addressed members’ concerns about data security by assuring that it does not store credit card information or collect social security numbers.

However, the group revealed that its member database contains certain private information, such as names, addresses, and phone numbers. On the other hand, ARRL said that they do not store email addresses in their database but require their participants to provide an email to join the organisation.

As of now, it remains unclear whether the threat is a ransomware attack or other cybercriminal activity. Therefore, potentially affected individuals, especially its members, should be careful in navigating their online presence, as the threat actors could have used the alleged compromised data to execute cybercriminal campaigns, such as phishing.