In usual right-wing hysterical fashion, the placement of malware on a test server not connected to the live Healthcare.gov system is being spun as a terrible, awful hack that puts everyone at risk.
Please spare me. What happened is far more generic than that. A test server which was not connected to any servers with data or access to data was breached and malware placed on it to launch a Distributed Denial of Service Attack (DDOS) on other sites.
But facts are irrelevant when you're trying to build a narrative. Sometimes I really hate the Internet and how willingly it accepts bullshit as fact.
The original headline on this POLITICO article was "Healthcare.gov hacked, consumer information not breached."
That morphed into headlines like this:
- HealthCare.gov Hack Reminiscent of Earlier Vermont Exchange Attack (National Review)
- Issa says HHS official 'must testify' after ObamaCare website hacked (Fox News)
- So, HealthCare.gov was hacked (HotAir)
- WSJ: Healthcare.Gov Hacked in July; Networks Fail to Cover (NewsBusters)
- Hacker Breached HealthCare.gov Insurance Site (Wall Street Journal)
Cue hysteria. Cue more House Oversight Committee hearings. Cue right-wing outrage.
Meanwhile, the rest of us will continue to live in reality.
