07/16/2020

Russian Hackers Trying to Steal COVID-19 Vaccine Research

National and international intelligence agencies discovered the attacks

Russian hackers, opening a dangerous new front in intelligence battles, are attempting to steal coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine research, the American, British and Canadian governments said today. The National Security Agency (NSA) said a hacking group implicated in the break-ins into Democratic Party servers in 2016 has been trying to steal intelligence on vaccines from healthcare organizations. The group, known as both APT29 and Cozy Bear and associated with Russian intelligence, has sought to exploit the chaos created by the coronavirus pandemic, officials said.

The Russian hackers have targeted American, British and Canadian organizations using malware and sending fraudulent emails to try to trick people into turning over passwords and other security credentials, all in an effort to access the research as well as information about medical supply chains.

“We condemn these despicable attacks against those doing vital work to combat the coronavirus pandemic,” said Paul Chichester, the director of operations for Britain’s National Cyber Security Center.

Please select this link to read the complete article from The New York Times.