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(Ottawa) Canadian, British and American spy services say hackers who work for Moscow have attempted to steal information from worldwide research to find a vaccine against COVID – 19.
Published on 12 July 2020 at 9 a.m. 24 Updated to 11 h 22
Jim Bronskill
The Canadian Press
The Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSE) claims that these “malicious activities” were most likely undertaken to steal information and intellectual property relating to the development and clinical trials of vaccines against the new coronavirus.
The Canadian agency says that clandestine activity is hampering research efforts at a time when experts need all the resources available to fight against pandemic.
The CSE Canadian Center for Cybersecurity believes that “APT 29 “, also known as” Dukes ” or “Cozy Bear”, is at the origin of this malicious activity and that he almost certainly carried out this cyberactivity on behalf of the Russian intelligence services.
“The group uses a variety of tools and techniques to primarily target government, diplomatic, think tank, health care and health care targets. 'energy for intelligence purposes', explains a joint opinion by the CSE and its American and British allies.
“APT 29 will likely continue to target organizations involved in research and development of COVID vaccines – 16, as they seek to answer additional intelligence questions regarding the pandemic. “
This assessment is corroborated by partners from the British National Cyber Security Center, the National Security Agency of the United States and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency of the US Department of Homeland Security.
“CSE and the Center for Cybersecurity have determined that the COVID pandemic – 16 presents a high risk for cybersecurity of Canadian health organizations involved in national pandemic response activities, “warns the Canadian agency.
CSE therefore urges Canadian health organizations to consult its technical bulletin on the threat and to take all necessary measures to protect themselves. She also encourages them to contact the Center for Cybersecurity “if they believe they have been targeted by cyber threats.”
The joint technical bulletin of the various intelligence services indicates that “APT 29 “targeted research and development of COVID vaccines – 19 by scanning the specific IP addresses of computers with vulnerabilities, a tactic that can help the group get information to connect to systems.
“This broad targeting potentially gives the group access to a large number of systems around the world, many of which are unlikely to have immediate value in intelligence, “says the joint technical bulletin. But hackers can keep a store of stolen credentials to gain access to these systems “in case they become more suited to their needs in the future.”
