Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1372822
67 CIO / HEALTH IT IBM finds more cyberattacks against COVID-19 vaccine supply chain By Hannah Mitchell A hacking campaign detected by IBM tried to attack the orga- nizations involved in manufacturing, transporting and stor- ing COVID-19 vaccines last year. Now, it has been found to be a much bigger operation than was originally thought. Nine things to know about the cyberattacks: 1. IBM discovered an additional 50 files tied to spear-phishing emails that targeted 44 companies in 14 countries across Europe, North America, South America and Asia, according to an April 14 IBM blog post. 2. Targets in spear-phishing campaigns at key organizations like warehousing and transportation include CEOs, company presidents, directors of finance and more. 3. Attacks against the temperature-controlled supply chain known as the "cold chain" disrupt the already fragile process of shipping vac- cines across the country and highlight the dangers of intellectual property the, according to an April 14 Bloomberg report. 4. Phishing emails were sent between Sept. 7 and 9, months before a COVID-19 vaccine was approved. IBM said this indicates the attack- ers were prepositioning themselves in global infrastructure. 5. e email subject and contents discussed requests for quotes of cold chain equipment, a solar-powered vaccine refrigerator and an ice-lined refrigerator. 6. e English language used in the email aligned with the expected educational background of the spoofed sender, IBM said. 7. IBM continued to uncover similar phishing emails with similar themes and even the same PDF with a login screen prepopulated with the user's email address already as the user ID. 8. IBM said it doesn't have clear attribution for the attacks, but it is highly likely that it's part of a nation-state operation. 9. IBM did not mention whether the attacks were successful in getting people to log in to the spoofed web pages. n Massachusetts health system uploaded info of 4,300 patients to unsecured storage network By Jackie Drees S outhbridge, Mass.-based Harrington Healthcare System began notifying more than 4,000 patients in April that their pro- tected health information had been acciden- tally uploaded and exposed. In an April 9 notice on its website, Harrington Healthcare said a mailing list containing pa- tients' names, ages, addresses, dates of birth and physician names was accidentally upload- ed to a network file location on its information system that was not designed to store secure patient information and could have been ac- cessed by parties outside of the health system. Harrington Physician Services reported the breach to HHS April 8 as affecting 4,393 peo- ple. It stated that it has performed a risk as- sessment and implemented safeguards to avoid repeat incidents. n Do's and don'ts of COVID-19 vaccine cards: 5 things to know By Jackie Drees A n increasing number of Americans have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and along with the shot, received a 4-by-3-inch paper "vaccination record card" for verification, CBS reported. Three things you should do with the vaccination card: 1. Experts recommend taking a digital picture of both sides of the personal record card and even scanning and saving the file on a lap- top or desktop, Megan Ranney, MD, emergency medicine physician at Providence-based Rhode Island Hospital, told the network. 2. Print a photocopy of the vaccination card and keep it in your wallet. 3. Keep the original hard copy of the vaccination card at home or someplace safe. Carrying the digital copy is enough and prevents possible loss. Two things you shouldn't do with your vaccination card: 4. Publish personal proof of your vaccination on Facebook, Twitter or other social media platforms since the CDC card includes the per- son's date of birth and first and last name. 5. While there are no official guidelines from HHS yet, some experts recommend holding off on laminating the vaccination card in case there is a need for booster shots, Mark Levine, New York City health department committee chair, told Slate. n