Ransomware hackers attacked the COVID-19 vaccination registration system of Italy, preventing residents from booking any vaccinations appointments in the Lazio region, which includes Rome.
BOLZANO, ITALY - JULY 14: People receive their Covid-19 vaccine in one of two SASA buses equipped as vaccination centers, operating in the small towns of South Tyrol, on July 14, 2021 in Bolzano, Italy. Italy has administered some 58,213,710 doses of Covid vaccines to the population, accounting for 48.3% of the country's population. Covid-19 infections are increasing in Italy, with 1,195 new infections reported on average each day.
Ransomware Attacks COVID-19 Vaccination Registration System
Meanwhile, the regional health councilor of Lazio, Alessio D'Amato, announced on the official Facebook page of the region that there was no stolen data from the attack, noting that the technicians are also working to reactivate the registration system.
In a separate press conference, D'Amato dubbed the recent incident "as the most serious cyber-attack ever carried out on an Italian public administration," according to CNN.
It is to note that no ransomware gang has taken claim to the significant attack.
Although local authorities claimed that they had already obtained a generic ransom request, the hackers did not reveal their affiliation.
Vaccination Appointment Booking System Ransomware Attack: What Happened?
The president of the Italian region, Nicola Zigaretti, revealed on Facebook, which was seen by CNBC, that almost all of the files in the system data center of the COVID-19 vaccination registration system have been inaccessible.
As such, the people behind the booking platform decided to completely shut down its servers to control the extent of the attack.
The criminal minds used a "crypto locker" to encrypt the files and block its users from accessing them.
Investigators of the vaccination system hack assured that the health data of the registrants, which includes President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Mario Draghi, remained untouched by the ransomware attackers.
Such a narrative is the same story that previous ransomware victims have been sharing.
For instance, Colonial Pipeline, the largest pipe system in the United States, experienced the same narrative, leading the company to pay the ransomware attacks a whopping $5 million worth of Bitcoin.
On top of that, the JBS ransomware attack, which crippled the meat supply, also faced the same fate, which forced the company to pay the criminal minds $11 million.
COVID-19 Appointment Booking Blocked
Zigaretti further announced that residents do not have any other choice but to wait for several days before booking any new vaccination appointments.
Meanwhile, D'Amato clarified that 500,000 residents, who already booked a COVID-19 vaccination until August 13, could still proceed to get their shots. So, the vaccination continues smoothly until the said date.
It is worth pointing out that Lazio is home to most of the Italian population as it is also where the capital of the country, Rome, is located.
The residents will only be able to book their inoculation appointment once recovery of the encrypted files takes place, the investigators say.
Related Article: CovaxSF Twitter Bot: COVID-19 Appointment Tool Created by Two Teens to Help People
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Teejay Boris
