Hackers Target Indian Pharma Company Among Others

Microsoft has detected cyberattacks from nation-state actors targeting seven prominent companies directly involved in researching vaccines and treatments for COVID-19, including in India.

Hackers Target Indian Pharma Company Among Others

The majority of targets are vaccine makers that have COVID-19 vaccines in various stages of clinical trials. Microsoft has detected cyberattacks from nation-state actors targeting seven prominent companies directly involved in researching vaccines and treatments for COVID-19, including in India. The targets include leading pharmaceutical companies and vaccine researchers in Canada, France, India, South Korea and the US, and came from Strontium, an actor originating from Russia, and two bad actors originating from North Korea called Zinc and Cerium. Although Microsoft did not reveal the names of the vaccine makers, at least seven Indian pharma companies are working to develop a vaccine against coronavirus, led by Serum Institute and Bharat Biotech.

According to Microsoft, among the targets, the majority are vaccine makers that have COVID-19 vaccines in various stages of clinical trials. Strontium continues to use password spray and brute force login attempts to steal login credentials. These are attacks that aim to break into people's accounts using thousands or millions of rapid attempts. Zinc has primarily used spear-phishing lures for credential theft, sending messages with fabricated job descriptions pretending to be recruiters. Cerium engaged in spear-phishing email lures using COVID-19 themes while masquerading as World Health Organization representatives.