Hackers target United States health firm throughout coronavirus crisis

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 United States Health and Human Services suffered a cyberattack on its computer system systems Sunday night.


James Martin/CNET

For the most current news and info about the coronavirus pandemic, go to the WHO site.

As federal government personnel and healthcare employees rush to react to the broadening pandemic of the coronavirus  the United States Health and Human Services Department found hackers assaulted its systems Sunday night. Bloomberg, which reported the attack pointing out confidential sources, stated the hackers appeared concentrated on slowing the firm’s reaction to the crisis, however “didn’t do so in any meaningful way.”

The hackers do not appear to have actually taken any information. Instead, The Washington Post and CyberScoop reported the attack was planned to slow the firm’s systems by straining them with traffic, frequently called a DDoS or dispersed rejection of service attack.

HHS stated in a declaration that it saw a “significant increase in activity” Sunday night, however that it was still “fully operational.” 

The Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, likewise called CISA, stated it’s currently taken actions to prepare federal government systems as more individuals work from another location. “We’re confident that the measures we’ve all put into place are sufficient, and we will stay on the lookout for and defend against malicious activity,” stated CISA spokesperson Sara Sendek.

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The attack underscores that while the government is focused on responding to the novel coronavirus and the COVID-19 disease it causes, cybersecurity is still a key issue. So far, most of the public attention put on tech over the past couple of weeks has come from the White House, which called on Silicon Valley to help stop the spread of misinformation. Google has also constructed a government website to help people who believe they may be ill.

Meanwhile, states, counties and cities have been focused on school closures, event cancellations and other social distancing efforts,

For hackers, there’s a lot of potential to wreak havoc. Government and health officials are sometimes issuing new guidance multiple times per day, and they’ve been more strict about various social measures. On Monday, the Centers for Disease Control said gatherings of more than 50 people should be halted for the next two months. Meanwhile, markets have plunged amid concerns about how the crisis will hit the economy.

Before the coronavirus crisis, security experts warned that hackers and propagandists in Russia and other countries were already ramping up efforts to disrupt the 2020 US presidential election. Companies such as Microsoft have pitched in to help make sure electronic voting machines are protected.

Now, they have to worry about hackers taking advantage of an international pandemic as well.