The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) warned hospitals and healthcare facilities against cyberattacks amidst the global COVID-19 pandemic.
DICT said in a statement there have been reports of ransomware attacks that target hospitals and healthcare facilities.
According to Healthcare IT News UK, a cyber-attack on a Czech hospital, also serving as a COVID-19 test facility, forced a tech shutdown in the midst of the outbreak, compromising life-sustaining medical equipment.
To prevent similar incidents, the Cybersecurity Bureau of the DICT urges hospitals and healthcare facilities nationwide to employ emergency backup systems to ensure operational continuity for both databases and infrastructure in case of outages caused by malware or cyberattacks.
In a related development, DICT also asked internet users to be cautious about the phishing threats.
Since March 18, 2020, a post entitled “P20,000 Para sa Lahat ng SSS Pangtawid” has been circulating on Facebook.
Clicking it directs the user to RANDOMNAMES.CLUB, which is a phishing site, and proceeds to repost the same link on the user’s Facebook wall.
“Be wary of similar phishing threats. Refer only to official government websites and sources for information and updates, ” the DICT said.
Protect your data
The National Privacy Commission (NPC) warned the public against individuals using the pandemic to lure people into clicking phishing emails and installing malwares capable of stealing personal data and money.
The NPC in a statement appealed to the public to be very careful online, especially when using online financial services and accessing health-related apps. The agency also encouraged internet users to enhance their privacy settings and protect their personal data.
