HHS Vaccine Website Defaced with AI-Generated Spam
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) website dedicated to vaccine information (vaccines.gov) has been defaced. The website now displays what appears to be AI-generated spam content.
Archived versions of the site reveal that this spam content, largely related to LGBTQ+ topics, has been present since at least May 12th. The purpose of the defacement, beyond spreading spam, remains unclear.
This incident follows a pattern of U.S. government websites being targeted for malicious purposes, including hosting scam advertisements and hacking services.
Website Part of Wider Spam Operation
Reports indicate that the compromised HHS website is part of a larger spam operation. Other affected sites include those belonging to NPR, Nvidia, and Stanford University. These websites redirect to a spam page hosted on wowlazy.com.
The HHS has not yet commented on the situation.
This incident highlights the ongoing vulnerability of websites, even those belonging to government agencies, to cyberattacks and defacement. The use of AI-generated content for spam further complicates the issue.
Source: TechCrunch and 404 Media. Archived versions of vaccines.gov can be found here (June 11th) and here (May 12th).
