World Leaders Urge Action Against Healthcare Cyberattacks

Global leaders across government and industry have signed a letter urging governments to take action against cyberattacks targeting hospitals, healthcare and research institutions, and international authorities providing critical care and guidance amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The letter comes from the CyberPeace Institute and follows a series of attacks against medical facilities in the United States, Thailand, Czech Republic, France, Spain, and Thailand, as well as the World Health Organization and other health authorities. These attacks range from ransomware threats to disinformation campaigns, CyberPeace says. If successful, attacks interrupt much-needed healthcare services and put a financial burden on the institutions that provide them. 

This call to action arrives as world leaders are holding discussions on the importance of cyber stability and attacks against healthcare institutions amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Its signatories include former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, former US Secretary of State Madeline Albright, former WHO Director-General Margaret Chen, and seven Nobel Prize laureates.

"The signatories demand that governments work together, including at the United Nations, to reaffirm and recommit to international rules that prohibit such actions, and to join forces with civil society and the private sector, to ensure that medical facilities are respected and protected, and to hold attackers accountable," the CyberPeace Institute writes in a statement.

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