Evil doers know that the best time to attack is during a crisis or a time of vulnerability. As the United States, and specifically, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) attempts to respond to and get ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S., hackers, likely from a foreign enemy nation state, ramped up cyber attacks against HHS this past weekend.

HHS has acknowledged the increased attempts, and has confirmed that the attacks have been unsuccessful. It appears the attacks were designed to disrupt HHS’s response efforts during the pandemic, and to distract officials from their focus on the response to COVID-19.

Enemy nation states and cyber-criminals are taking advantage of the worldwide COVID-19 crisis to attack, intrude, disrupt and distract. We all need to be on high alert during this time of vulnerability and concern.