24 August 2024 A.R.I. DX Bulletin
No 1738

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**** DX INFORMATION ****
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Edited by I1JQJ & IK1ADH
Direttore Responsabile I2VGW

9M6 - Celebrating the 61st Sabah Day (31 August) and Malaysia Day (16
September), special callsign 9M61S will be active from 23 August to
16 September. QSL direct to P.O. Box 20469, 88761 Luyang, Sabah,
Malaysia.
9M6 - Team 9M1Z will be active from the "Semporna Islands", Sabah, East
Malaysia during the first half of September. They will be QRV from
four islands: Mabul (1-4 September), Timba-Timba (5-7 September),
Mataking (8-11 September) and Pom-Pom (12-15 September). Look for
activity on 80-6 metres SSB, CW, FT8/FT4 and RTTY. QSL via LoTW,
Club Log's OQRS (see https://www.qrz.com/db/9M1Z for the links to
the four logs, which will be uploaded separately), or direct to
9W8ZZK or 9M8WIN.
CY9 - Helicopter operations for the CY9C DXpedition (26 August-5 Septem-
ber) will begin at 12 UTC on 24 August: "the first flight to St
Paul Island will be with several team members on board. The first
priority will be sending the tents and other infrastructure gear to
the island. The airlift of gear will take all day on the 24th.
Please be patient as there is a lot of work that must be completed
to build the camp. There is very little soil (ground) on the North-
east Island as it is essentially a large rock. We may have to drill
anchors into the rock to secure our tents and antenna masts. At
this point, the weather looks favorable for the airlift of gear and
team members". See https://www.facebook.com/groups/1455659374986029
for updates.
CY9C will run 6 stations on 160-10 metres, and one station for VHF/
UHF/EME and satellite. At any given time, a minimum of 3 stations
will be using the new SuperFox FT8 mode. Their planned operating
frequencies: https://t-rexsoftware.com/cy9c/frequencies.htm. QSL
via Club Log's OQRS (preferred for both direct and bureau cards),
LoTW, or direct to WA4DAN.
E5_sc - Tom, N2WLG will be active as E51WLG from Rarotonga (OC-013), South
Cook Islands on 1-8 September. He will operate CW and digital modes
on 40-10 metres. QSL via LoTW, or via home call.
EA - Special event callsigns EG1SDC-EG9SDC (1-7 September) and EH1SDC-
EH9SDC (8-15 September) will be activated to commemorate Day of
Asturias and the principality's patron saint, popularly known as
the Santina de Covadonga. This is the 40th edition of the 'SDC'
special event. Also active will be EG40SDC (1-15 September) and
ED3SDC (14-15 September). QSL for all callsigns via EA1AUM (direct
or bureau), LoTW and eQSL. See https://santina.dxfun.com/ for more
information, including online logs and downloadable certificates.
F - Members of the RadioPole Associatif REF-40 (F4KLM) will be active
as TM40IPC from 28 August to 8 September during the Paris 2024
Paralympic Games. QSL via F6DZU and LoTW. Several other special
callsigns are expected to be active during the event, including
TM2024JPP, TM2024PG, TM24JPO, TM24JPP, TM42JP, TM51JP, TM63PARA,
TM67PR, TM77PO, TM78OGP.
F - To commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Wingles
during WWII (2 September 1944), the local radio club (F4KLR) will
be active as TM80LW on 31 August, 2 September and for another 13
days until 9 November. All SSB and CW QSOs will be confirmed
automatically via the bureau and eQSL; FT8 QSOs will be confirmed
via eQSL. [TNX F6AJA]
IS0 - Giuseppe, IK5WWA will be active again as IM0C from San Pietro
Island (EU-165) on 1-15 September. He will be QRV on 40-2 metres.
QSL via home call. He is in the process of clearing the backlog of
his past activities; requests for direct and bureau cards are being
processed slowly but surely, so please be patient with him.
OH0 - Martti, OH2BH will operate CW as OH0B from the Aland Islands on 24-
25 August. QSL via OH2BH. This will be the CW part of the OH0AM
outing [425DXN 1736] that made nearly 4200 QSOs mostly on FT8 and
SSB. The lottery is still open for contacts made with OH0AM and
this weekend's OH0B operation. Just send a note of your QSOs to
oh2am60@gmail.com to participate in the lottery. The prizes are 10
copies of "Atlas of QSL Cards" (https://atlasofqsl.com). The lot-
tery draw will take place on 19 September.
ON - Members of UBA's Groupement De Verviers will be active as OR80USA
on 1-15 September and again on 16-31 December. The special callsign
commemorates the 80th anniversary of the liberation from German
occupation and the Battle of the Bulge during World War II, events
in which the US military was heavily engaged. QSL via the bureau to
ON4GDV.
W - Matt, AF2F has been active from Long Beach Island (NA-111) since 19
August and will remain there "for a few weeks". In his spare time
he is QRV as AF2F/2 on 40-10 metres CW and FT8. QSL via LoTW, Club
Log, or via home call. [TNX DX World]
YL - Special event callsign YL35WAY will be active on 23-31 August to
commemorate the 35th anniversary of the Baltic Way. On 23 August
1989 hundreds of thousands people formed a human chain spanning
across Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, demanding the reestablishment
of the independence of the Baltic States. QSOs will be uploaded to
LoTW, eQSL, and QRZ Logbook; see https://qsl.services/event/YL35WAY
for downloadable certificates and QSLs.

GQRP CLUB'S GOLDEN JUBILEE ---> Formed in 1974 by Rev. George Dobbs, G3RJV
(1943-2019), the GQRP Club promotes Low Power Radio. Celebrating the club's
50th anniversary, G5LOW and all its regional variants (GD5LOW, GI5LOW,
GJ5LOW, GM5LOW, GU5LOW and GW5LOW) will be QRV on 1-30 September. In addi-
tion, seven special callsigns will join the celebrations from Austria
(OE50LOW), Finland (OH50LOW), France (TM50LOW), Germany (DM50LOW), Italy
(IR3QRP), Romania (YP50QRP) and Spain (EG5LOW). Commemorative certificates
will be available for chasers: https://www.gqrp.com/50years.htm.

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**** GOOD TO KNOW ... ****
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Edited by I1JQJ & IK1ADH
Direttore Responsabile I2VGW

Access to the main functions of www.425dxn.org is provided by the 425DXN App
for Android. It is available on Google Play - free of charge, no ads. Enjoy!

ARRL IT SECURITY INCIDENT: REPORT TO MEMBERS ---> Sometime in early May
2024, ARRL's systems network was compromised by threat actors (TAs) using
information they had purchased on the dark web. The TAs accessed headquar-
ters on-site systems and most cloud-based systems. They used a wide variety
of payloads affecting everything from desktops and laptops to Windows-based
and Linux-based servers. Despite the wide variety of target configurations,
the TAs seemed to have a payload that would host and execute encryption or
deletion of network-based IT assets, as well as launch demands for a ransom
payment, for every system.
This serious incident was an act of organized crime. The highly coordinat-
ed and executed attack took place during the early morning hours of May 15.
That morning, as staff arrived, it was immediately apparent that ARRL had
become the victim of an extensive and sophisticated ransomware attack. The
FBI categorized the attack as "unique" as they had not seen this level of
sophistication among the many other attacks, they have experience with.
Within 3 hours a crisis management team had been constructed of ARRL manage-
ment, an outside vendor with extensive resources and experience in the
ransomware recovery space, attorneys experienced with managing the legal
aspects of the attack including interfacing with the authorities, and our
insurance carrier. The authorities were contacted immediately as was the
ARRL President.
The ransom demands by the TAs, in exchange for access to their decryption
tools, were exorbitant. It was clear they didn't know, and didn't care, that
they had attacked a small 501(c)(3) organization with limited resources.
Their ransom demands were dramatically weakened by the fact that they did
not have access to any compromising data. It was also clear that they be-
lieved ARRL had extensive insurance coverage that would cover a multi-
million-dollar ransom payment. After days of tense negotiation and brinkman-
ship, ARRL agreed to pay a $1 million ransom. That payment, along with the
cost of restoration, has been largely covered by our insurance policy.
From the start of the incident, the ARRL board met weekly using a continu-
ing special board meeting for full progress reports and to offer assistance.
In the first few meetings there were significant details to cover, and the
board was thoughtfully engaged, asked important questions, and was fully
supportive of the team at HQ to keep the restoration efforts moving. Member
updates were posted to a single page on the website and were posted across
the internet in many forums and groups. ARRL worked closely with profes-
sionals deeply experienced in ransomware matters on every post. It is impor-
tant to understand that the TAs had ARRL under a magnifying glass while we
were negotiating. Based on the expert advice we were being given, we could
not publicly communicate anything informative, useful, or potentially antag-
onistic to the TAs during this time frame.
Today, most systems have been restored or are waiting for interfaces to
come back online to interconnect them. While we have been in restoration
mode, we have also been working to simplify the infrastructure to the extent
possible. We anticipate that it may take another month or two to complete
restoration under the new infrastructure guidelines and new standards.
Most ARRL member benefits remained operational during the attack. One that
wasn't was Logbook of The World (LoTW), which is one of our most popular
member benefits. LoTW data was not impacted by the attack and once the envi-
ronment was ready to again permit public access to ARRL network-based
servers, we returned LoTW into service. The fact that LoTW took less than 4
days to get through a backlog that at times exceeded over 60,000 logs was
outstanding.
The board at the ARRL Second Board Meeting in July voted to approve a new
committee, the Information Technology Advisory Committee. This will be
comprised of ARRL staff, board members with demonstrated experience in IT,
and additional members from the IT industry who are currently employed as
subject matter experts in a few areas. They will help analyze and advise on
future steps to take with ARRL IT within the financial means available to
the organization.
We thank you for your patience as we navigated our way through this. The
emails of moral support and offers of IT expertise were well received by the
team. Although we are not entirely out of the woods yet and are still work-
ing to restore minor servers that serve internal needs (such as various
email services like bulk mail and some internal reflectors), we are happy
with the progress that has been made and for the incredible dedication of
staff and consultants who continue to work together to bring this incident
to a successful conclusion.
[Ed: the above information was first shared with ARRL members via email on
21 August, and then made available to the public at large on the ARRL's
website: https://www.arrl.org/news]

ARRL SYSTEMS SERVICE DISRUPTION: DXCC ---> While WAS and VUCC applications
are being processed, and certificates and endorsement stickers are being
mailed, "work is continuing to return the DXCC systems to service", the ARRL
announced on 22 August. "DXCC award processing, including the Online DXCC
application system, is unavailable at this time. While all DXCC user data is
secure and unaffected, we have taken the precautionary measure of keeping
the service offline until we can ensure the security and integrity of our
networks".

N5J ---> Pulled the plug and went QRT at 17 UTC on 20 August, and the team
departed Jarvis Island on 21 August at 02.30 UTC. According to Club Log,
106,883 QSOs were made with 21,296 unique calls. Complete statistics are on
https://clublog.org/charts/?c=N5J#r.

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******* QSL ROUTES *******
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Edited by I1JQJ & IK1ADH
Direttore Responsabile I2VGW

===================================================================
CALL MANAGER CALL MANAGER CALL MANAGER
===================================================================
3B8HE M0OXO HH2K N3BNA SO80LNW SP3PDO
3V8SS LX1NO HL79V 6K0MF SP80LNW SP3PDO
4X0A 4X1VF II1PV IQ1GE SU1OK VE1AYM
5E61PG EA7FTR J43LH SV3QUP T44IJ RW6HS
7Z1AO EC6DX J88BTI EA5GL T45FM RW6HS
A2NEW EA7FTR KP2B EB7DX T47C IK2DUW
AT2SPACE VU2UUU LR8FTDMC F1ULQ TF/WT8P EA5GL
AT78I VU2JOS LZ156DD LZ2VP TM1AEL F1EOY
C21TS M0OXO LZ302IT LZ1KCP TM22LH DL7BC
CB2FT CE2LK NL8F N7RO TM2LW F4ELJ
CW5X CX2ABC OH0AM OH2TA TM3TDFF F8GGZ
CX1T IK2DUW OJ0JR OH3JR TM80BLG F6CQU
D4UM SQ9UM ON4PRA ON8JJ TM80CAL F5BNJ
D93H DS1TUW OV7X DL2JRM TM80DP F4GPB
DK100DDSR DL2BJW PA55NTA PA1K TO8FP DJ4MX
DM60IOTA DL2VFR PD6AB PD7URK TU5JZ F5MFV
DU3/F4EBK F4EUO PF24GP PA3EFR VP8KCA G5KC
E51EME ZL1RS PV2K EA5GL WP3C M0OXO
ED2FPA EA2RCA PW7T PT7WA YJ0VK M0OXO
EI0CAR EI4JR RI0KA RZ3EC YP0TA YO3GND
HB9ILLW HB9FVR S79VU N4GNR ZB2LGT ZB2BU
HF65KJM SP9KJM SF6B SA6OHM ZD8GB EA5GL
HF80KG890G SQ9LFO SN0WFF SP5C ZW8T PS8HF
HH2AA EB7DX SO1944LIB SQ9Z ZX9X PT9DX

CE0YHO Jose Barrera, Correos Chile, 2779001 Isla de Pascua, Chile
DS1TUW Hojoong Ji, 506-dong 2002-ho, 816 Geumha-ro, Geumcheon-gu,
Seoul 08646, Korea
OG0C Juha Vanhatalo, Lehtimaentie 11, FI-45610 Koria, Finland
TM0BSM Dietmar Worgull, Sudstrasse 33, 53757 Sankt Augustin, Germany
ZW8C Fernando R. da Silva Junior, Rua Tomaz de Area Leao 1615,
Teresina - PI, 64049-630, Brazil

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425 DX NEWS HOME PAGE: https://www.425dxn.org/

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425 DX News is a free of charge weekly bulletin
edited by Mauro Pregliasco, I1JQJ and Valeria Pregliasco, IK1ADH

Its contents may be used, reproduced and distributed
in part or full provided that
"425 DX News" or "425DXN" receive proper credit

Contributors are invited to send their DX information to
Mauro Pregliasco, I1JQJ (i1jqj.mauro@gmail.com)
The deadline is 12 UTC on Fridays

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Direttore Responsabile
Gabriele Villa, I2VGW
Giornalista Professionista - Tessera n. 071675
Ordine Nazionale dei Giornalisti
Roma, Italia