South Korea reports Kim Jong Un hackers attempted to steal Pfizer vaccine data

North Korean hackers attempted to break into pharmaceutical giant Pfizer’s systems seeking information on the vaccine and treatment for the coronavirusaccording to the South Korean intelligence agency, quoted Tuesday by the press.

Seoul National Intelligence Service “He informed us that North Korea had attempted to obtain technology related to the vaccine and treatment for covid using cyberwarfare to hack Pfizer.” said the deputy Ha Tae-keung to journalists.

South Korean intelligence did not say when the alleged hack took place or whether it was successful.

Pfizer’s offices in Asia and South Korea did not immediately comment.

The coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer with german company BioNTech It is one of the safest and most effective to date, according to authorities in many countries.

North Korea, a poor country with a nuclear weapon, was isolated from the world since january last year, when it closed its borders to try to protect itself from the virus that appeared in neighboring China in December 2019.

The border closure added pressure on its failing economy affected by international sanctions imposed on it as a result of its nuclear development program for military purposes, which increases Pyongyang’s need to find a solution to the pandemic.

North Korea is known to have a army of well-trained cybercriminals targeting companies, institutions and researchers in South Korea and other parts of the world filling government coffers with liquidity problems amid international sanctions that bar most international trade with the country.

Digital espionage against health agencies, scientists and drug makers has been intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic as piracy groups backed by the Pyongyang regime scramble for the latest research and information on the outbreak.

Last year, suspected North Korean hackers tried to get into at least nine health organizations, including Johnson & Johnson, Novavax Inc and AstraZeneca.

Health experts said that country hackers might be more interested in selling stolen vaccine data than using them to develop a local vaccine.

North Korea is expected to receive nearly 2 million doses of AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine for the first semester of this year through the COVAX vaccine exchange program.

Leader Kim Jong-un insisted the country has no coronavirus cases, despite the fact that foreign experts doubt this claim. South Korea’s intelligence service said an epidemic could not be ruled out as the country had active trade and people-to-people exchanges with China before closing the border in early 2020.

Chef Kim Jong Un’s wife, Ri Sol Ju, which has not been seen in public for over a year, is keeping a low profile because, according to the intelligence of the neighboring country, avoid the risk of COVID-19 infection.

(With information from AFP and Reuters)

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