Maryland Department Of Health Confirms Ransomware Attack Caused Disruption In COVID-19 Data Last Month

 A disruption last month in the Maryland Department of Health’s reporting of COVID-19 data was in fact a ransomware attack, the state’s Chief Information Security Officer Chip Stewart said Wednesday.

Such cyberattacks lock administrators out of their data and systems and demand payment to restore operations. Baltimore City, Greater Baltimore Medical Center and Baltimore County Public Schools are just some of the local public entities that have faced similar attacks in recent years.

In early December, the state health department was unable to report Covid-19 data following a cyberattack. The agency attributed the lack of updates to a “server outage.”

The cyberattack also took away resources the agency’s website normally has available, including pages inviting Marylanders to apply for Medicaid, get data on local nursing home safety, and order free at-home testing for sexually transmitted infections.