The U.S Health and Human Services Department was targeted in a cyberattack over the weekend as the agency grapples with the coronavirus crisis, which has killed 69 people in the country as of Monday.

The HHS said it put early protections in place, in case a hacking attempt were to occur during its COVID-19 response efforts.

Bloomberg reporter Jennifer Jacobs tweeted the news Monday saying, "The attack appears to have been intended to slow the agency’s systems down."

The HHS confirmed the event in a statement to USA TODAY.

"On Sunday, we became aware of a significant increase in activity on HHS cyber infrastructure and are fully operational as we actively investigate the matter," the agency said via email.

The cyber intrusion didn't affect systems in any meaningful way, and hackers weren't able to retrieve information, the Bloomberg report said, citing people familiar with the situation.

However, the event prompted the National Security Council to tweet about the spread of disinformation on Sunday, Bloomberg reports.

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"Text message rumors of a national #quarantine are FAKE. There is no national lockdown," NSC tweeted late Sunday night. "(The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) has and will continue to post the latest guidance on #COVID19."

It's likely that "a hostile foreign actor" was behind the attack, HHS officials told Bloomberg, but there is no definitive proof of who tried hacking the agency.

The government agency is in charge of providing health and social services as well as advancing in medicine.

Follow Dalvin Brown on Twitter: @Dalvin_Brown.