According to security services in the UK , US and Canada , Russian hackers state-backed are targeting pharmaceutical companies , healthcare services, academic research centres and other organisations involved in developing vaccines for COVID -19 .
The alert, issued by the UK's National Cyber Security Service ( NCSC ) with support from the US National Security Agency and Canadian security agencies , says attacks by Russian hacking group APT29 , also known as Cozy Bear, are aimed at stealing information related to COVID-19 research.
Russian hackers have targeted organizations in the UK, US and Canada.
APT29 is linked to Russian intelligence services and is responsible for numerous international cyberattacks and spear-phishing campaigns, as well as interference in the United States elections.
There is currently no evidence to suggest that the current attacks have been successful, but the NCSC says they are ongoing.
“We condemn these abhorrent attacks against those who do important work to combat the COVID-19 pandemic”, said Paul Chichester of the NCSC.
Russian hackers are developing two malware, WellMess and WellMail, that can give commands to infected machines and affect organizations involved in developing vaccines for COVID-19. These two malware have not previously been associated with APT29.
This particular group also tends to scan networks to detect vulnerabilities, which would allow it to penetrate internal systems and spy on organizations or infect them with other malware.
Experts believe that Russian hackers will continue to target healthcare organizations as the world grapples with COVID-19.
The NCSC recommends that organizations protect their devices and networks with the latest security updates so attackers cannot exploit known vulnerabilities. Organizations should also use multi-factor authenticationto add an extra barrier to hackers. Training staff to spot phishing attacks is also important.
Previously, experts had said that other hackers from other countries are likely to try to steal data related to COVID-19.
