A group of threat actors has doctored data related to the Pfizer and BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines, which they stole by breaching into the European Medical Agency’s (EMA) network. EMA is responsible for verifying, analyzing, monitoring, administering, and approving any new medicine being introduced into the European Union.
As per an update released by EMA, a few internal and external documents related to the COVID-19 vaccines were accessed by threat actors and then released into the wild after being altered by attackers. In its update, EMA stated that “some of the correspondence has been manipulated by the perpetrators prior to publication in a way which could undermine trust in vaccines.” EMA believes the leak includes information dating from November.
After some investigation, EMA identified that the breach happened through one of its IT applications. EMA is yet to identify the exact modus operandi of the attack; however, the attackers’ motive appears to have been to access information regarding the COVID-19 vaccines. Once the whole incident is revealed, Cyber Town will update readers as soon as possible.
As the whole world is rushing to vaccinate people against COVID-19, the healthcare industry is already grabbing a lot of attention in the market and amongst hackers. Any crucial vaccine data can be decisive when forming an opinion on whether to get vaccinated, so some hackers have decided to lurk around healthcare organizations to leverage loopholes and manipulate people's trust in vaccines. It is the responsibility of IT teams in healthcare and pharmaceutical firms to ensure their organization’s data and network remains secured against such threats.
Considering how crucial it is to secure sensitive data, organizations need to implement effective cybersecurity strategies to keep their endpoints, networks, and users safe from cyberattacks. Robust endpoint security, incident management, endpoint detection and response, and MDM solutions can ensure your firm isn't a sweet spot for hackers and their malicious intent.
If you’re interested in strengthening your cybersecurity strategies further, please check out our cybersecurity predictions for 2021, where you’ll see how to expand your IT department effectively.
