Hospitals are testing and treating COVID-19 patients, medical labs are overwhelmed processing COVID-19 tests, medical research organizations are working on vaccines and studying antibodies, organizations like the WHO and CDC are trying to distribute new and accurate information about COVID-19, and the US Health and Human Services department is working to distribute ventilators and PPE. In the midst of the pandemic, the health system is also on the front lines for cyber attacks.
Hospitals, labs, and testing facilities are facing an uptick in ransomware attacks, as well as inflated ransoms. Cybercriminals are capitalizing on the pandemic, assuming that health organizations may be more likely to pay increasing ransoms because they are desperately trying to care for COVID-19 patients.
The US Health and Human Services department also experienced a cyber incident recently. It appeared to be reconnaissance, scanning their network for vulnerabilities, and reportedly no damage was done. While it is not yet clear who was behind this intrusion, some are pointing to foreign nation state actors.
Cybersecurity Weekly 