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Samoa Met Service may have suffered cyber attack

Samoa Met Service logo
Source: RNZ Pacific

Apia, SAMOA — Coming the same day as news of the hack on the ASDOE Facebook page, the website of the Samoan Meteorology Service (SMS) may have been the victim of a cyber attack according to local Samoa media.

Radio Polynesia reported that an SMS official stated that their website became inoperative on 17 December. The government Minister in charge of the Meteorology Office, Toesulusulu Cedric Schuster, has yet to reply to their emails for a definitive comment.

SMS staff have stated that their IT division has been working to repair the website, and suspect that it has been hacked.

Meanwhile, TV1 Samoa obtained information that SMS staff were working to resolve the website problem with help from a Japanese IT expert.

This is a serious concern as the website, which posts important weather information, is down in the middle of Samoa's tropical cyclone season: November 2021 to April 2022. Although, the peak tropical cyclone activity is normally experienced from January to March.

Currently weather information and updates are available on the Samoa Meteorological Service Facebook page.

The latest weather forecast, states that a moderate North-easterly flow remains prevalent over Samoa, bringing clouds and rain showers for the rest of the week.