COVID-19 Cybersecurity: Building Resilience Beyond the Crisis

At the start of the national emergency, the Office for Civil Rights lifted penalties around telehealth to expand care options amid the crisis. These changes fueled the adoption of new telehealth platforms, as well as the use of platforms not previously allowed by HIPAA.

During the same time period, telework increased, as did the need for temporary hospitals and supporting remote devices. As previously noted by security researchers, many of these platforms were quickly put onto the network – and not always with security at the forefront.

Security researchers, the FBI, and other federal agencies have ramped up alerts during the crisis, in light of an increase in traffic and targeted attacks on the sector. These vulnerabilities range from COVID-19 fraud schemes and personal protective equipment to nation state-sponsored hacking on healthcare and pharma entities.