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Russian cybercriminals have attacked organizations developing a vaccine against COVID-19, according to a joint statement by the UK National Cybersecurity Center, the Canadian Communications Security Agency and the Cybersecurity Infrastructure Agency and the US National Security Agency. They said the threat belongs to the APT29 group and is "almost certainly" controlled by Russian intelligence. How successful the hackers' actions were unclear.
The hacker group APT29, according to the NCSC, specializes in attacks on government, diplomatic, analytical, medical and energy facilities, the purpose of which is to steal "valuable intellectual property". She was also allegedly behind the attacks on the National Democratic Committee during the 2016 US presidential election. The group uses a variety of tools and methods, including spear-phishing, and the WellMess and WellMail malware.
Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov called the accusations of London and its allies unfounded. “We have no information on who could have hacked pharmaceutical companies and research centers in the UK. We can say one thing - Russia has nothing to do with these attempts. We do not accept such accusations, as well as the next unfounded accusations of interference in the 2019 elections, ”he said.
The Russians were hardly the only ones involved in such a campaign, a cybersecurity expert told the BBC. “They have a lot of people, we have a lot of people, the Americans have even more people, just like the Chinese,” commented Professor Ross Anderson of the Cambridge University Computer Laboratory.
COVID-19 research has become a prime target for intelligence services around the world, and therefore many of them can be active in this direction.
The hacker group APT29, according to the NCSC, specializes in attacks on government, diplomatic, analytical, medical and energy facilities, the purpose of which is to steal "valuable intellectual property". She was also allegedly behind the attacks on the National Democratic Committee during the 2016 US presidential election. The group uses a variety of tools and methods, including spear-phishing, and the WellMess and WellMail malware.
Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov called the accusations of London and its allies unfounded. “We have no information on who could have hacked pharmaceutical companies and research centers in the UK. We can say one thing - Russia has nothing to do with these attempts. We do not accept such accusations, as well as the next unfounded accusations of interference in the 2019 elections, ”he said.
The Russians were hardly the only ones involved in such a campaign, a cybersecurity expert told the BBC. “They have a lot of people, we have a lot of people, the Americans have even more people, just like the Chinese,” commented Professor Ross Anderson of the Cambridge University Computer Laboratory.
COVID-19 research has become a prime target for intelligence services around the world, and therefore many of them can be active in this direction.
