Microsoft: Russian and North Korean hackers attack coronavirus vaccine companies – Coronavirus

According to the software giant, a Russian hacker group called “Fancy Bear” and two North Korean groups called “Zinc” and “Cerium” are involved in recent attempts to intrude on the networks of seven pharmaceutical companies and research institutions in Canada, France. , India, South Korea and the United States.

Most of the targets are “manufacturers who had COVID-19 vaccines at various stages of clinical trials,” Tom Burt, Microsoft’s vice president of security at the company, said Friday in a blog post. Burt hasn’t named any of the companies involved.

In most cases, intrusion attempts have failed, but some have been successful, Microsoft adds, without further details.

Hackers use both so-called brute force attacks (to guess the username and password) and spear-phishing tactics (a series of emails designed to get the user to react and take action).

One of the North Korean groups sent baits via email using “COVID-19 themes”, presenting themselves as “representatives of the World Health Organization” (WHO).

The pharmaceutical companies targeted in the latest attacks are based in Canada, France, India, South Korea and the United States, Microsoft said.

The United States accused China and Russia in July of attempting to break into vaccine manufacturers’ systems.

Microsoft says the health sector has long been a favorite target of cyber attacks due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Cyber ​​attack attempts have targeted the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Spain, Thailand and the United States.