The government's healthcare insurance information website, HealthCare.gov, was hacked this summer, but no damage was done, according to a statement Thursday from the Department of Health and Human Services. "Today, we briefed key Congressional staff about an intrusion on a test server that supports HealthCare.gov," the statement said. The breach was first reported by The Wall Street Journal. HHS said the attack took the form of malware that was installed on a test server and "designed to launch a 'denial of service' attack against other websites when activated." The breach was discovered in late August; the Journal said the hack took place in July.
"Our review indicates that the server did not contain consumer information; data was not transmitted outside the agency, and the website was not specifically targeted," the HHS statement continued. That means this was likely an automated attack that happened to find a vulnerable server, not a concerted effort to break in. Nevertheless, the HHS writes, "We have taken measures to further strengthen security."
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