Russia, North Korea Targeted Covid Research With Cyber-Attacks

(Bloomberg) -- Hackers in Russia and North Korea have targeted seven “prominent” companies working on Covid-19 vaccine and treatment research, according to Microsoft Corp.

The cyber-attacks were conducted in recent months and targeted “leading pharmaceutical companies and vaccine researchers” in the U.S., Canada, France, India, and South Korea, according to a Friday blog post by the company, which said that “the majority of these attacks were blocked.” Microsoft didn’t identify the companies or researchers who were targeted.

Microsoft’s announcement represents the latest information about attempts by nation states to hack research related to medical efforts to fight the pandemic. This year, the U.S. accused China and Russia of attempting to steal research on the Covid-19 virus. In the cases described by Microsoft, North Korean hackers sent phishing emails that purported to be from representatives of the World Health Organization, while the Russian hackers tried to break into people’s accounts by using thousands or millions of rapid attempts.

“We’ve notified all organizations targeted, and where attacks have been successful, we’ve offered help,” the post said.

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