Earlier this year, one of Czech Republic’s hospitals, which is also a coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) testing laboratory, became a victim of a cyberattack. The attack forced the hospital to shut down its information technology network, postpone surgeries and move some of its patients to other hospitals. With the pandemic still in full swing here in the Philippines, these cyberattacks on other countries’ hospitals pose as a warning for our healthcare industry to take cybersecurity seriously.

Following that incident, the Cybersecurity Bureau of the Department of Information Communications and Technology (DICT) immediately advised local hospitals and healthcare facilities nationwide to install emergency backup systems to ensure continuous operations.