HHS issues cyber alert on critical vulnerability in MOVEit file transfer platform; health care organizations are exposed to cyberattacks, urged to patch vulnerable instances immediately

The Department of Health and Human Services Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center June 27 issued an alert about a critical vulnerability in MOVEit, a common file transfer platform utilized in the health sector. The vulnerability exposes health care organizations to cyberattacks, especially ransomware and data breaches.  
 
“Progress, the company that owns and operates the MOVEit platform, has released patches to fix this vulnerability,” the alert states. “However, exploit code is also available to the public, and this vulnerability is being actively targeted by cyber threat actors. All health care organizations are strongly urged to identify any vulnerable instances of MOVEit that exist in their infrastructure and patch them as a high priority.”  
 
AHA National Advisor for Cybersecurity and Risk John Riggi said, “This vulnerability is especially serious as MOVEit is commonly used throughout the health care sector and government to transfer sensitive data such as protected health information. Last year, the Russian ransomware group known as Cl0P successfully exploited vulnerabilities in MOVEit to steal the health care records of tens of millions of Americans. This was a prime factor that contributed to the record number of health care records stolen in 2023. That number — 136 million — was 300% higher than in 2022. The identified critical vulnerabilities in MOVEit are another stark example of how hospitals and health systems are exposed to significant cyber risk through insecure third-party technology and service providers.”