South Korean intelligence agencies say North Korean Hackers broke into the computer system of the U.S. pharmaceutical company Pfizer in an attempt to steal information on the New Coronavirus vaccine.
The news was reported by major South Korean and Western media on Tuesday (Feb. 16). South Korean congressman Ha Tae-keung (R-KY) said at a closed hearing Tuesday that “South Korea’s national intelligence agency informed us about North Korea’s attempt to hack into Pfizer’s website through cyber warfare to obtain virus vaccine data.”
The U.S. State Department and Pfizer have not immediately responded to the incident. North Korean official media also did not comment on it.
However, the reports do not mention when the hacking took place or whether the operation was successful.
The allegation made by South Korean officials is the latest in a number of hacks involving North Korea. North Korea claims there has not been a single case of virus infection in the pandemic, but the theft of vaccine data from Western countries has reportedly occurred many times in the closed communist country.
Last November, the U.S. company Microsoft reported that North Korean and Russian hackers tried to steal relevant research data from pharmaceutical companies and vaccine researchers. However, Microsoft said most of those North Korean operations were unsuccessful.
The U.S. government has also accused Chinese hackers of launching a hacking campaign against vaccine makers, while South Korea claims to have thwarted North Korean attempts to break into South Korean vaccine development companies last year, a Washington Post report said Tuesday.
North Korea has asked foreign countries to order vaccines, planning to buy about 2 million doses of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine, according to the Global Alliance for Vaccine Immunization (Gavi Alliance). This is part of a U.N. effort to help those in the world’s poorest countries.
North Korea closed its border with China shortly after the outbreak, and trade activity between the two countries has been drastically reduced, making it even more difficult for the already weakened economy.
Last week, experts from the United Nations said their investigation into the theft of $280 million in cryptocurrency last September found a “strong link” to North Korea.
In 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice formally charged Park Jin Hyok, a North Korean programmer, for his alleged involvement in several cyber hacking operations.
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