U.S. health agency attacked by hackers amid coronavirus outbreak

The computer systems of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) suffered a cyberattack late on Sunday, Bloomberg reported Monday, citing three sources familiar with the matter. 

Sources say the attack was intended to slow the agency’s systems down, but it was unsuccessful. The attackers likely did not take any data from the HHS, and the assumption is that the attack came from a “hostile foreign actor.”

There are no other details about the attack at this time — except that it involved multiple incidents — and the HHS did not respond to Bloomberg’s request for comment. 

As of writing time, the HHS’s website responded normally and seemed to be unaffected. 

It appears that the attackers were spreading some misinformation as well.  

“Text message rumors of a national are FAKE. There is no national lockdown. @CDCgov has and will continue to post the latest guidance on ,” said a tweet by the National Security Council on Sunday night. Bloomberg’s sources say that the tweet was in part addressing the attacks. 

The attack comes during one of the worst disease outbreaks in recent history.

The coronavirus has so far killed more than 6,500 and infected more than 169,661 people. The outbreak has been worsening in the U.S. in recent weeks, with more than 3,400 confirmed cases and 65 deaths.