Top US health agency suffers cyberattack

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) was attacked by hackers over the weekend as the agency worked to respond to the coronavirus pandemic.
The cyberattack, first reported by Bloomberg News, involved hackers accessing HHS’s systems on Sunday night. According to Bloomberg, they were not able to steal anything, and the goal was to slow down systems.
“We are aware of a cyber incident related to the Health and Human Services computer networks and the federal government is investigating this incident thoroughly,” John Ullyot, spokesman for the White House National Security Council (NSC), told The Hill in a statement. “HHS and federal government cybersecurity professionals are continuously monitoring and taking appropriate actions to secure our federal networks. HHS and federal networks are functioning normally at this time.”

According to Bloomberg, an NSC tweet on Sunday was posted after the government confirmed that false information was circulating due to the hack.
“Text message rumors of a national #quarantine are FAKE. There is no national lockdown,” the NSC tweeted. “@CDCgov has and will continue to post the latest guidance on #COVID19. #coronavirus.”

HHS did not respond to The Hill’s request for comment.
Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, called for “consequences” in response to the cyberattack on HHS.
“Here’s the reality of 21st century conflict: cyberattacks are massive weapons to kick opponents when they’re down,” Sasse said in a statement. “At a time when Americans face uncertainty and fear from coronavirus, we should expect an increase in cyberattacks and stay vigilant. There need to be consequences for these kinds of attacks. We can’t take our eye off the ball.”
https://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/487756-top-us-health-agency-suffers-cyberattack-report