ARRL (USA radio league) ….victim of cyber attack

Off Topic
21

Always a risk. I do use LoTW but backup all my logbooks in Club Log regularly and my Wholelog (as I call it - 22 logbooks combined into one) on my own PCs external SSD at least once a week. Club log will always allow you to download your basic uploaded logbook in ADIF format, without many details such as SOTA summits, names, QTH etc, but at least you could get your logbook back albeit just basic details like date, time, callsigns and DXCC Country.

I know a few amateurs who rely on the QRZ.COM logbook or other server based logbooks without keeping a seperate back up. This is a very risky with what is happening these days as the data could be lost.

73 Phil G4OBK

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22

Yah this is one mindset all companies/organizations need to change. The minute you start aquiring the PII of others you immediately become a data security company regardless of your vision or mission.

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23

MEMBER BULLETIN

June 6, 2024

Dear ARRL member,

We are writing to inform you of a serious incident that has impacted ARRL’s operations. On or around May 12, 2024, ARRL was the victim of a sophisticated network attack by a malicious international cyber group. We immediately involved the FBI and engaged with third party experts to investigate.

On May 16, on the eve of the ARRL National Convention in Ohio, we posted a notice on our website to inform members about the incident. Since then, we have made substantial progress to mitigate the impact of this attack on our organization. We have been posting regular updates, including the status of restored services. Please refer to our dedicated news post at https://www.arrl.org/news/arrl-systems-service-disruption.

We are aware that certain members believe we should be openly communicating everything associated with this incident. We are working with industry experts, including cyber crime attorneys and the authorities, who have directed us to be conservative and cautious with our communications while restoring the ARRL network.

Many of our services and programs have been impacted by this attack. We have been diligently assessing each system to ascertain the extent of compromise. For example, while the Logbook of The World® server and related user data were unaffected, we have taken the precautionary measure of keeping the service offline until we can ensure the security and integrity of our networks. Similarly, access to Online DXCC is unavailable, although individual award data remains secure.

Fortunately, some of our key systems, such as the ARRL website and our association membership system, were unaffected. Despite the severity of the attack, no personal information was compromised. Additionally, ARRL does not store credit card information anywhere on our systems, and we do not collect social security numbers.

Our Directors have heard from some members who are concerned about managing their membership renewals. Members can renew online at www.arrl.org/join or by phoning ARRL.

We understand the frustration and inconvenience this incident has caused, and we sincerely appreciate your patience and understanding as our dedicated staff and partners continue to work tirelessly to restore affected systems and services.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

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24

Hi Paul,
It looks like the ARRL have sent this email to all members as I got it this morning as well. As far as I can see, it is the same text as posted on their website.

73 Ed.

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25

The message seems to suggest LoTW is safe and will eventually come on line.

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26

Yup. At the very least they need to hire a company whose mission is protection of PII and network infrastructure so they can focus on their core competencies while being protected. That has been my line of work for 20 years now.

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27

It appears that LotW is now available again HOWEVER, so far the ARRL has not posted anything on their status page (perhaps to avoid the expected rush of outstanding uploads) - use with care “if you dare”.
73 Ed.

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28

No success here to reach LOTW … wait and see
73 Chris

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29

Possibly gone down again - probably best to wait until the ARRL give their OK.
But they are getting close to getting things fixed it seems.
73 Ed.

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30

Looks like it was up for about three and a half hours in the last 24:

https://status.lotw.arrl.org/

73 Eric KG6MZS

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31

Latest update is from June 21 and would announce when LoTW would be back up.

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32

There will be a humungous backlog of records to process - and LoTW was never fast
The catch-up might take months …

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33

LOTW is back !
And the queue is already forming …

image

Rick

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34

I receive a daily summary of the posts to the arrl-lotw group. The summary is sufficient to keep me up to date and mostly it goes to the bit bucket in the sky immediately without any need to read the actual posts.

What puzzled me about a lot of comments, mostly those imagining all kinds of dire things that might have happened, was the urgency some people attached to getting their logs uploaded. If they are mostly new contacts, the operator at the other end has not uploaded their logs yet (for the obvious reason), so getting a log uploaded urgently is somewhat pointless. There is no urgency at all, unless it is to have something to do. Or something to complain about…

73 Andrew VK1DA/VK2DA

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35

Some people complain if they have nothing to complain about.

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36

Letter sent out ARRL members (received today):

view this email in your browser

640x109

July 1, 2024

MEMBER BULLETIN

July 1, 2024

Dear ARRL member,

Effective 12:00pm ET / 16:00 UTC we will be returning Logbook of The World® (LoTW®) to service.

As work progressed on the network, some users encountered LoTW opening briefly during which some 6600 logs were uploaded. The logs were not processed until this weekend as we tested that the interfaces to LoTW were functioning properly.

We are taking steps to help manage what will likely be a huge influx of logs. We are requesting that if you have large uploads, perhaps from contests or from a DXpedition, please wait a week or two before uploading to give LoTW a chance to catch up. We have also implemented a process to reject logs with excessive duplicates. Please do not upload your entire log to “ensure” your contacts are in LoTW as they will be rejected. Lastly, please do not call ARRL Headquarters to report issues you are having with LoTW. You can contact support at LoTW-help@arrl.org.

Through the end of the year, you may experience planned times when LoTW will be unavailable. We have been using this time to evaluate operational and infrastructure improvements we would like to make to LoTW. Those times will be announced.

We appreciate your patience as we worked through the challenges keeping LoTW from returning to service. We know the importance of LoTW to our members, and to the tens of thousands of LoTW users who are not ARRL members. LoTW, just behind QST, is our second most popular ARRL benefit.

Copyright © 2024 American Radio Relay League, Incorporated. Use and distribution of this publication, or any portion thereof, is permitted for non-commercial or educational purposes, with attribution. All other purposes require written permission.

ARRL Logo202x100

ARRL

225 Main Street, Newington, CT 06111-1400

www.arrl.org · 860-594-0200

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37

Did you notice the part about “the FBI?” That would result in instructions not to discuss while it is being investigated… - fd

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