Russia hacking virus vaccine trials, US, UK, Canada say

WASHINGTON (AP) — Western governments on Thursday accused hackers believed to be part of Russian intelligence of trying to steal valuable private information about a coronavirus vaccine, calling out the Kremlin in an unusually detailed public warning to scientists and medical companies.

The alleged culprit is a familiar foe. Intelligence agencies in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada say the hacking group APT29, also known as Cozy Bear, is attacking academic and pharmaceutical research institutions involved in COVID-19 vaccine development.

The same group was implicated in the hacking of Democratic email accounts during the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

It was unclear whether any useful information was stolen.

But British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said, “It is completely unacceptable that the Russian Intelligence Services are targeting those working to combat the coronavirus pandemic.”

He accused Moscow of pursuing “selfish interests with reckless behavior.”

The allegation that hackers linked to a foreign government are attempting to siphon secret research during the pandemic is not entirely new. U.S. officials as recently as Thursday have accused China of similar conduct.

But the latest warning was startling for the detail it provided, attributing the targeting by name to a particular hacking group and specifying the software vulnerabilities the hackers have been exploiting.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, rejected the accusations, saying, “We don’t have information about who may have hacked pharmaceutical companies and research centers in Britain.”

A 16-page advisory prepared by Western agencies and made public Thursday accuses Cozy Bear of using custom malicious software to target a number of organizations globally. 

The malware, called WellMess and WellMail, has not previously been associated with the group, the advisory said.

More broadly, Thursday’s announcement speaks to the cybersecurity vulnerability created by the pandemic and the global race for a vaccine.

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