Florida Health Department hit in recent cyber attacks along others

TLDR:

– The Florida Department of Health was targeted in recent cyber attacks, compromising personal patient information.
– Outages in the vital statistics system have slowed down services like birth and death certificates.

In recent cyber attacks, the Florida Department of Health (DOH) has been among the victims, leading to potential compromises in personal patient information. The attacks have resulted in outages in the DOH’s vital statistics system, impacting services like birth and death certificates. The DOH is working with law enforcement to address the issue and is planning to notify affected individuals promptly. The CEO of Ageis Technology, Blake Dowling, highlighted the severity of the situation, emphasizing the need for strong internet safety practices and passwords to protect sensitive data.

The security breach has also affected local businesses like funeral homes, as the Electronic Death Registration System managed through the FDOH Vital Statistics system has been down. This has caused delays in processing death certificates, impacting families during the grieving process. Rocky Bevis, the president of Bevis Funeral and Cremation Services, expressed concerns about the system’s downtime and its effects on families trying to make funeral arrangements. The hope is that the system will be restored soon to minimize disruptions in services.

It is crucial for individuals and organizations to stay vigilant and take necessary precautions to safeguard sensitive information in the face of increasing cyber threats. Following best practices for cybersecurity and maintaining secure digital practices can help mitigate risks and prevent data breaches.