The Department of Health and Human Services was hit with a cyberattack on Sunday night as it combats the spread of the coronavirus outbreak.
Officials suspect the attack was intended to slow down the agency’s computer systems and came from a foreign entity, sources told Bloomberg News. No definitive evidence has been found yet to trace where the hackers were based, but it does not appear data was taken from HHS.
The Washington Examiner has reached out to the agency for comment.
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The National Security Council sent out a tweet late Sunday denying rumors swirling on social media that the federal government was about to impose a nationwide quarantine during the COVID-19 outbreak, bluntly calling the text messages going around “FAKE.”
“Text message rumors of a national #quarantine are FAKE,” the NSC’s verified account said just before midnight. “There is no national lockdown. The CDC has and will continue to post the latest guidance on #COVID19. #coronavirus.”
As of Monday morning, there were more than 3,770 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the United States and 69 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker.
