The FitzRoy supercomputer of the New Zealand National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research was subjected to a hacking attack last Thursday.
The institute's CEO, John Morgan, confirmed the attack, which is believed to have been carried out by Chinese hackerswho managed to break into the system.
“We immediately isolated the supercomputer, and transferred the operation to the back-up facility in Hamilton. We are confident that the attacker did not reach beyond the supercomputer,” Morgan said.
FitzRoy is a $12.7 million supercomputer purchased in 2010 and is equivalent to about 7,000 laptops working simultaneously.
The system can provide information about future severe weather conditions, as well as predictions related to larger, global issues, such as climate change.
FitzRoy weighs about 18 tons and is one of the most powerful computers in the world for use in environmental research and prediction.
Morgan stressed that the supercomputer was used exclusively to run scientific models and services, and did not contain sensitive personal data.
