With reports of numerous cyber attacks coming in the past few weeks, the chief of Germany's cyber security agency has expressed fears that German hospitals too could face risk from hackers.

An Irish hospital and a US pipeline were attacked by hackers after which the hospital had to shut down its systems at considerable cost to its services. It had to cancel appointments, Covid-19 tests were cancelled and diagnostic services were disrupted.

Similarly, German clinics have been targeted in numerous cyber attacks over the last five years.

In other separate attacks earlier this month, German companies were targeted for access to possible political and economic information. Security agencies in Berlin said that Iranian hackers were trying to steal sensitive information from the companies. The hackers had tricked employees of these companies in installing malware on their computers.

With much cyber crime being reported from Germany and other parts of the world, Arne Schoenbohm, president of the BSI federal cyber security agency, told Zeit Online newspaper that he saw "a greater danger at hospitals".

The 8,850-km US Colonial Pipeline Co system had to close operations following a cyber attack that led to disruption of oil supplies – gasoline, diesel and jet fuel – from flowing to the East Coast from the Gulf Coast.

Chances of cyber-attacks have increased during the lockdown period as companies had to resort to work from home owing to the infectious Covid-19 outbreak from Wuhan in late 2019. The fear of spread of the virus has been so paramount that large populations have been self-quarantined for fear of catching or spreading the infection.

With the work from home practice becoming widely prevalent, companies have been slow to introduce cyber-protection for their employees.