Hackers backed by Govt targeting COVID-19 research data: US, UK rings bell of warning
By MYBRANDBOOK
Britain and the United States issued a joint warning that government-backed hackers are attempting to break into healthcare and research institutions involved in the global response to the new coronavirus outbreak.
In a statement, Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said the hackers had targeted pharmaceutical companies, research organisations and local governments.
The NCSC and CISA though did not mention which countries were responsible for the attacks. But one U.S. official and one UK official said the warning was in response to intrusion attempts by suspected Chinese and Iranian hackers, as well as some Russian-linked activity.
Tehran, Beijing and Moscow have all repeatedly denied conducting offensive cyber operations and say they are the victims of such attacks themselves.
State hacking groups “frequently target organisations in order to collect bulk personal information, intellectual property and intelligence that aligns with national priorities,” the NCSC and CISA said.
“For example, actors may seek to obtain intelligence on national and international healthcare policy or acquire sensitive data on COVID-19 related research.”
The warning follows efforts by a host of state-backed hackers to compromise governments, businesses and health agencies in search of information about the new disease and attempts to combat it.
The officials said the alert was not triggered by any specific incident or compromise, but rather intended as a warning - both to the attackers and the targeted organisations that need to better defend themselves.
“These are organisations that wouldn’t normally see themselves as nation state targets, and they need to understand that now they are,” said one of the officials.
The agencies said hackers had been seen trying to identify and exploit security weaknesses caused by staff working from home as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.
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