The pandemic continues to create opportunities for threat actors to try to make a quick buck.
As the COVID-19 Delta variant has begun circling the globe and infections continue to rise, vaccinations have become as important as ever.
Leave it to malicious cyber actors to take advantage of a situation like this.
The Italian region Lazio was recently hit with a cyberattack that affected the computer systems used in booking vaccination appointments.
Cyberattack impacts Italian computer systems
The Postal Police of the Lazio Region have begun investigating a cyberattack on the data processing center that manages vaccine appointments.
They say a virus has paralyzed computer functions creating considerable inconvenience, although the targeted personal data remains safe.
The police believe it is possible this is a ransomware attack, and that the hacker used a cryptoblocker Trojan to prevent accessibility to sensitive data.
Lazio Governor Nicola Zingaretti described the attack as "the most serious that has ever occurred on the (Italian) national territory."
However, the Lazio Region had proper security measures in place, allowing immediate backups of all encrypted data, rendering the attack on personal information useless. The booking of vaccine appointments remains offline.
The COVID-19 Crisis Unit of the Lazio Region comments on the situation:
"A powerful hacker attack on the regional ced is underway. The systems are all deactivated including all those of the Lazio Health portal and the vaccination network. All the defense and verification operations are underway to avoid the continuation of the inefficiencies.
The operations relating to the administration of vaccinations—it is explained in the note—may be slowed down because they will have to be carried out manually and there is the suspension of reservations because there is the impossibility of access to the system. We apologize for the inconvenience beyond our control."
The attack comes on the day the region passed its goal of 70% of the population over age 18 vaccinated with two doses.
Lazio regional health councilor Alessio D'Amato said more than 500,000 citizens have already booked vaccine appointments through August 13 and will still be able to get their shot.
Police are working to restore the functionality of the computer system and identify those responsible for the attack.
The Rome Chronicle is tracking this story.
