SECTION MANAGER NEWSLETTER
September 26, 2024       
Dan Ringer, K8WV
West Virginia Section Manager

ARRL Systems Service Disruption

09/25/2024

Updated 9/25/24

Two major systems that have not been returned to service include DXCC and our accounting system. Most other systems have returned to full service, and we are working to clean up the stragglers.

DXCC® System

Our DXCC software was written some 20 years ago.  Although an attempt was made 8 years ago to reprogram it to function in a newer environment, that effort was unsuccessful, so the old system remains running today.  The complication with bringing it back to service is that it runs on an older version of Windows that is not supported, and more importantly, we cannot purchase adequate protection to return it to service on an internet-based network.

We have created an air-gapped network to run the system on and have it operating in a test, using a different method for connecting it to Logbook of The World® and online DXCC -- the web service that runs the online DXCC application.  This configuration is being tested and we expect it can go into production soon.  We will work to process the backlog as quickly as possible.

New DXCC?

There were statements made by an ARRL Director about work on a new DXCC system.  That is not factual. While we have ideas for merging DXCC and LoTW® into a single ARRL Radiosport platform, this concept has not been fully spec’d out or put into development.

ARRL Financials

The system we use for accounting was hit hard by the cyber-attack.  Currently, the system is fully operational and the ARRL Foundation books are in place.  ARRL’s corporate books are current as of 6/30/23, and we are working to load the balance of the data through 12/31/23. Once we are certain that the books tie to the audited 2023 financials, we will move to load the 2024 transactions, which are in digital and paper formats. That will take some time, but we will have all the data current in time for the 2025 Annual Meeting and the annual audit.

Backups

Another statement made was about ARRL’s backups of our IT environment.  There was an effort last year to move all of our backups into the cloud.  That was completed mid-2023.  There was a routine discipline of backups that went through mid-May 2024 when the cyber attack occurred.  Unfortunately, the entire cloud infrastructure was penetrated, and all of the environments were deleted.  Not encrypted.  This caused us to revert to other backups that had been made and stored in other places.  As a result, we were largely able to continue all of our major services especially publishing our 4 magazines and keeping book projects, like ARRL Handbook 101, on schedule.

Today, ARRL is using a proprietary system to backup systems and data locally and to the cloud.  We are also continuing to use air gapped, off-site backups in specific areas and are expanding that for disaster recovery purposes.  The new IT environment is currently being rolled out, so the assertion that there is something wrong or staff are incompetent is not factual.

We appreciate your continued patience and understanding.

This story will be updated with new developments.