The Department of Health and Human Services experienced a cyber attack over the weekend. People close to the incident say the attack’s goal was to disrupt and cause disinformation as the corona virus pandemic spreads across the United States. It is believed that a foreign actor implemented the attack but at this point the federal network is functioning normally.
On Sunday night the National Security Council sent out a tweet warning about fake text messages. The tweet also prompted a message from a unknown military source saying he overheard that a mandatory quarantine was the next step for our nation. When misinformation is spread with reckless abandon it can certainly effect the population especially in weird times like this where everyone is looking for all the facts to keep themselves safe.
The attack also involved overloading the Department of Health and Human Services servers with millions of hits in only a few hours and thankfully the agency said the overloading was unsuccessful in slowing down their systems. The attack was suspected and as the intensity of the corona virus was ramping up the agency put extra protections in place to prepare for unforeseen circumstances.
Along with the cyber security attacks president Trump issued a statement that at this time there is no mandatory quarantine but the issue of social distancing has gotten more traction within the last week. It started with cancelation of sporting events to cancelation of events with 250 people and now as of Monday people should limit themselves to groups of no more than ten people and people should work from home when possible.
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