"Russian Intelligence Agency Attempts to Hack COVID-19 Vaccine Information Using Hackers"

Canada and the US Also Suspect Russian Intelligence Agencies
UK Claims "Well Blocked" Without Confirming Hacking

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] There have been allegations that research data on the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) vaccine is being targeted. The UK government has strongly asserted that the Russian government is behind this, but Russia has actively denied the allegations.

On the 16th (local time), the UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), together with the Canadian Communications Security Establishment (CSE), claimed that a hacking group called 'APT29' is attempting to extract COVID-19 vaccine-related information by targeting academia and the pharmaceutical industry. It is also known that the US National Security Agency (NSA) shares this view regarding the hacking suspicions.

APT29 has been presumed to be a hacking group linked to Russian intelligence agencies.

A UK NCSC official stated that this hacker group has been using spear phishing (phishing targeting specific individuals) and common malware to identify the status of vaccine-related research, and expects such attacks to continue in the future. The official declined to comment on whether any hacking damage had occurred. The UK NCSC official refused to confirm whether the hacking was successful, only stating that they are responding well to the hacking threats.

APT29, also known as 'Cozy Bear' and 'The Dukes,' is a hacking group known to have been involved in the hacking of the US Democratic National Committee emails during the 2016 US presidential election. Their hacking targets have included governments, embassies, think tanks, health organizations, and energy companies worldwide.

Adam Schiff, Chairman of the US House Intelligence Committee, raised the possibility that Russian President Vladimir Putin may have relied on hackers to obtain information related to securing the COVID-19 vaccine. Chairman Schiff said, "Considering Russia's ineffective response to COVID-19, President Putin would have desired such information for international prestige, economic interests, and domestic political reasons," adding, "It would not be surprising if intelligence agencies were used."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.