Microsoft in a shocking revelation has warned India and US that it has detected attempts by state-sponsored hackers. The tech giant alleged that hackers from North Korea and Russia are trying to steal valuable Covid-19 vaccine-related data from pharmaceutical companies. The company in a blog post had warned top pharmaceutical companies to be safe from such hackers whose targets are pharma companies based in India, USA and three other countries.
The company alleged that the hackers are trying to steal data from companies and vaccine researchers those who have reached the various stages of Covid-19 vaccine development. Microsoft has revealed the names of the hacker groups who are targeting prominent vaccine makers as Strontium, Zinc and Cerium. The first hacker group Strontium, also known as Fancy Bear, originates from Russia. While the other two hacker groups, Zinc and Cerium are from North Korea.
The modus operandi of the groups are mostly trying to steal login credentials. The hacking techniques involved aiming to break into accounts using thousands or millions of rapid attempts. Zinc and Cerium are said to using phishing methods for credential theft, often pretending to be job recruiters. The North Korean Cerium group also tried to send fabricated messages pretending to be the World Health Organisation (WHO).
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In a major relief, Microsoft ensured the majority of such cyber-attacks have been blocked by security protections. Earlier Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had alleged that Chinese Hackers were attempting to steal US research related to coronavirus.
