Arrl Gives Its Account Of Recent Network Shutdown

As phones came back into service at the Connecticut headquarters of the ARRL, the league's communications remained sparse and carefully worded about the apparent cyberattack that disabled its networks, servers and other systems, including Logbook of the World.

Breaking a public silence of not quite one week, the league said on its website that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation and third-party experts had been called in, early on, to help investigate. The league said that managers formed an incident response team.

The league's message, posted on the 4th of June on its website, offered no insights as to whether the source of the network shutdown came from an internal or external attack but said the FBI told them they considered the incident "unique.". The league offered no further explanation. The ARRL has said that no sensitive data, such as credit card numbers, had been exposed and any details about members were already publicly accessible from other sites.

The ARRL's message said that the staff was testing applications and interfaces with an eye toward restoring their proper operation - but did not elaborate further.

The ARRL Contest Portal was to be available on a limited basis, as the dates for the International Digital Contest and the June VHF Contest approached.

Membership renewals were also being accepted online and by phone.

Updated 6/6/2024

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.

ARRL’s association membership system was not impacted by this attack. Members can renew online at www.arrl.org/join or by phoning ARRL. Additionally, the online ARRL Store is operating as normal. ARRL Field Day merchandise is still available for immediate shipping. Please see this latest news story about ARRL Field Day.

The digital edition of the July 2024 issue of QST will be available as scheduled, on Friday, 7th June 2024. The print edition will go to press on Monday, June 10. Members may also access digital editions of QST dating back to 2012, and current and previous issues of On the Air, QEX, and NCJ magazines back to 2020.

As previously reported, the ARRL Volunteer Examiner Coordinator is processing Amateur Radio License applications received from Volunteer Examiners who completed candidate exam sessions. As of 6th June 2024, our staff are processing applications from exams given on 22nd May 2024.

As previously reported, W1AW, the Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Station is fully operational with voice, CW, and digital bulletins, code practice, and qualifying runs. The station continues to welcome visiting operators during normal visiting hours.

The ARRL June VHF Contest is 8-10 June 2024. Online log submission will be supported as usual. The log submission function was similarly supported for the recent ARRL Digital Contest, held 1-2 June 2024.

The publication of most ARRL e-newsletters, including the weekly ARRL Letter, has resumed with minimal disruption to regular schedules. A new platform for emailing newsletters has been implemented, leading to some variations in layout.