Russian hackers are targeting organizations involved in developing a vaccine for the novel coronavirus, according to a joint advisory issued Thursday by the United States, United Kingdom and Canada.
American, British and Canadian agencies said a well-known cyber espionage group widely believed to be part of the Russian government’s intelligence services are behind the effort.
Their advisory said the hackers — known by names such as APR29, the Dukes and Cozy Bear — have targeted organizations in the U.S., U.K. and Canada involved in developing a vaccine for COVID-19, the incurable disease the coronavirus cause, “highly likely with the intention of stealing information and intellectual property relating to the development and testing of COVID-19 vaccines.”
“We condemn these despicable attacks against those doing vital work to combat the coronavirus pandemic,” said Paul Chichester, the director of operations for the U.K.’s National Cyber Security Centre, or NCSC.
The advisory was published by the NCSC with the support of Canadian and American counterparts, including the U.S. National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
The persistent attacks are seen by intelligence officials as an effort to steal intellectual property, rather than to disrupt research.
It was unclear whether any information actually was stolen, but the NCSC says individuals’ confidential information is not believed to have been compromised.
Cozy Bear has been identified by Washington as one of two Russian government-linked hacking groups that broke into the Democratic National Committee’s computer network and stole emails ahead of the 2016 presidential election. The other group is usually called Fancy Bear.
It’s also unclear whether Russian President Vladimir Putin knew about the vaccine research hacking, but British officials believe such intelligence would be highly prized.
U.S. authorities have previously leveled similar accusations against China. FBI Director Chris Wray said last week, “At this very moment, China is working to compromise American health care organizations, pharmaceutical companies, and academic institutions conducting essential COVID-19 research.”
• Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.
