March 26, 2020
At a time when patient data is critical to slowing the virus, creating a vaccine, and coordinating care, hospitals now have to fend off opportunistic security attacks and phishing attempts from bad actors. Deploying malware, email senders are posing as employees working remotely or CDC officials with important information and are sending fake map tracking of COVID-19 cases as a ruse to steal usernames, passwords, and other personal information. In addition, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently endured a cyberattack on its computer system, which investigators believe was intended to create disruption and enable the spread of misinformation.