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As the country pushes for expanded access to COVID-19 vaccines, pharmacies such as CVS and Walgreens are stepping up security efforts against the so-called ‘scalper bots’ that are eagerly awaiting vaccine uptake.
Following the recent announcement by the Biden government that it will soon be distributing approximately 1 million doses per week to approximately 6,500 pharmacies across the country, security companies have warned retailers such as CVS and Walgreens, which are helping these distribution efforts, to be careful. Scalper bots can accumulate vaccine vaccination as soon as it becomes available.
Similarly, in the past scalper bots looked for the latest PlayStation or Microsoft Xbox consoles once they hit the market and later sold them at a higher price, security companies have expressed concern that these scalper bots are the vaccine of pharmacies can target. similarly agreements, which urge retailers to sharpen their defenses to ward off such attacks.
‘Rope jumpers branch out. “Their tools are now being used to target other high-demand products,” Matt Gracey-McMinn, head of threat research at botac security firm Netacea, told Reuters.
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A Walgreens official told the point of sale that the company “is working to ensure that only authorized and eligible patients have access to plan a vaccine appointment.”
“In doing so, safety measures such as the detection and prevention of bones will play a key role in delivering this critical service to patients,” said Jim Cameli, chief information officer at Walgreens Boots.
Meanwhile, CVS is also stepping up its safety contest ahead of the extensive vaccination of vaccines, which could start as early as 11 February.
‘Our vaccination site has a low defense that has the ability to detect automated cyber attacks, such as botnets. These capabilities, along with our application design and user input validation, enable us to empower legitimate users, ”a CVS Health spokesperson told the news service.
Meanwhile, Walmart has announced that the pharmacies in its Walmart stores and Sam’s Club warehouses are also working with the federal government to help with the expanded distribution efforts. In a news release, the retail giant stated that eligible customers and members can make an appointment ‘directly via a scheduling tool on the Walmart and Sam’s Club sites’, but only while the award lasts.
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As for its security efforts – Walmart suffered a slimmer bot attack for the game consoles during the December holidays – the company told Reuters it intends to “focus on safety and all necessary mitigation steps to help us get fair and just vaccinations” offer.”
Such an attack could have devastating consequences for a country that has so far seen only 35.2 million vaccines, despite the US leading the world in both virus cases and deaths.
“Several of our customers are concerned about the frightening dilemma they will eventually face: how can we manage the vaccine appointments without being reinforced by automated bot attacks?” Edward Roberts, a specialist at the security firm Imperva, told Reuters. “The dam will explode as soon as vaccines are available to all citizens.”