Homeland security agencies in the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada on Thursday accused hackers linked to Russian intelligence services of attacking organizations conducting investigations of the COVID-19 vaccine with personalized malware in an effort to steal property. intellectual.
The UK’s National Cybersecurity Center issued the joint notice, which was also shared by the US National Security Agency and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), as well as the Communications Security Establishment of Canada.
“It is completely unacceptable that the Russian intelligence services are targeting those working to combat the coronavirus pandemic,” UK Foreign Minister Dominic Raab said in a statement. “While others pursue their selfish interests with reckless behavior, the UK and its allies continue the hard work of finding a vaccine and protecting global health.”
Agencies warned that the group known as APT29, also known as “the dukes” or “welcoming bear,” was behind the attacks. It was not immediately clear whether the group was successful in obtaining data.
“Throughout 2020, APT29 has targeted various organizations involved in the development of the COVID-19 vaccine in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom, most likely with the intention of stealing information and intellectual property related to development and testing of COVID-19 vaccines, “the notice said.
The group of hackers used malware known as “WellMess” and “WellMail” to target organizations around the world, the agencies said. Their report detailed APT29’s tactics and shared ways to identify if the data had been compromised.
NSA Cybersecurity Director Anne Neuberger said the group “has a long history of targeting government, diplomatic, expert group, health care and energy organizations for intelligence.”
“[W]We encourage everyone to take this threat seriously and apply the mitigations issued in the notice, “Neuberger said in a statement.
Several of the top vaccine candidates are being developed by researchers in the US, the UK, and Canada, and the three governments are investing billions of dollars in drug institutions and manufacturers to boost testing and production. One of the most promising candidates, developed by the National Institutes of Health and the modern pharmaceutical company, will begin a key final round of testing later this month. US health officials have said they hope to have 300 million doses of a successful vaccine available by the end of the year.
US authorities have previously accused cyber actors linked to the Chinese government of similar efforts. The FBI and CISA said in May that Chinese hackers “were illicitly trying to identify and obtain valuable intellectual property (IP) information and public health data related to vaccines, treatments and network tests and personnel affiliated with the investigation related to COVID-19 “.
.
