'North Korean hackers targetted Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine'

ANI
17 Feb 2021, 02:25 GMT+10

Washington [US], February 17 (ANI): North Korean hackers have recently attempted to steal information on Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine, according to a report by The Washington Post.

South Korea's National Intelligence Service had informed the Seoul lawmakers of the threat during a closed-door briefing earlier this week.

Ha Tae-keung, a lawmaker and member of the committee briefed on the issue, was quoted as saying that the alleged hackers went after the COVID-19 vaccine and other Pfizer technology developed around the pandemic, The Hill reported citing the Post.

He further stated that Seoul had seen a 32 per cent spike over the past year in cyberattacks from North Korea.

According to The Hill, while Pfizer has not commented anything on the issue, the news comes on the heels of both foreign and cybercriminal hackers stepping up efforts over the past year to go after COVID-19 vaccines and related medical research.

North Korea has been involved in targeting the COVID-19 vaccine research in December as well. Citing the Wall Street Journal, The Hill said that North Korean hackers had attempted to hack into six pharmaceutical groups involved in COVID-19 vaccine development in both the US and South Korea.

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, several malicious cyber activities have taken place targetting organisations involved in vaccine research.

Last year, both the World Health Organisation and the US Department of Health and Human Services had become victims of cyberattacks. (ANI)

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