Hackers and vaccines: the power of data on advances against covid-19 2:15
(CNN) -
Hackers are targeting key players in the coronavirus vaccine supply chain as its distribution goes live.
These new warnings were given by the US Department of Homeland Security and the IBM company, which discovered the malicious activity.
Since September, unknown attacks have sought to engage "select executives in sales, procurement, information technology and finance positions" in organizations responsible for ensuring that vaccines are shipped under the correct temperature-controlled conditions, IBM said in a conference blog post.
The Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued its own warning Thursday linking IBM's findings.
North Korean hackers reportedly targeted vaccine maker AstraZeneca, says Reuters
Be careful, this is how Russian hackers of APT29 operate to steal data 1:22
This is how hackers target the vaccine supply chain
Posing as a commercial executive for Haier Biomedical - a real participant involved in the covid-19 vaccine effort - the hackers sent emails to the European Union Directorate General for Taxes and Customs Union.
They also mailed to entities in the energy, manufacturing and software sectors, IBM said.
The emails were written to look like requests for quotes for potential vaccine program participants.
These so-called spearphishing emails were designed to trick victims into giving their usernames and passwords, which could have given the attackers greater access to information about the vaccine, its development and distribution.
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It's unclear what the attackers' motives were, IBM said.
It is also unclear who may have been responsible for the attacks.
But IBM said that depending on the type of targets involved, state-sponsored hackers shouldn't be ruled out.
"Advanced knowledge about the purchase and movement of a vaccine that can affect life and the global economy is probably a high-value, high-priority nation-state goal," IBM said.
A similar hacking campaign earlier in the year targeted the global supply chain for personal protective equipment, IBM added.
covid-19 Hackers
