As the coronavirus crisis is taking a toll on the countries around the world, the number of infection cases continues to rise at an exponential pace with the major nations working at record speed to find a cure for the disease.
Amidst all the hullabaloo, the UK, US and Canda have dropped a bomb by issuing a joint statement accusing Russia of attempting to steal coronavirus vaccine research by cyberattacks against medical institutions and universities.
All three nations, in the statement released, claimed that a hacking group named APT29 also known as Cozy Bear is actively conducting an ongoing campaign of 'malicious activity', as reported by the Daily Mail.
Russia Trying to Steal COVID-19 Vaccine Information?
According to the security chiefs, the group is most probably operating as a part of Russian Intelligence Services as the officials are confident that Kremlin gave the mission a green light. The countries believe that Russia indulged in such an activity to develop a coronavirus vaccine first or at least at the same time as UK, Canada, US. As per reports, the hackers have targeted the pharmaceutical and academic institutions as the National Cyber Security Centre of the UK detailed the activity of the APT29 group.
NCSC has stated that the group most probably operated as a part of the Russian Intelligence Services and the claim has been backed by the US Department of Homeland Security, the Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency, and the National Security Agency and also by the Canadian Communication Security Establishment.
APT29 Targeted UK, USA, Canada
The director of operations at NCSC, Paul Chichester mentioned, "We condemn these despicable attacks against those doing vital work to combat the coronavirus pandemic. Working with our allies, the NCSC is committed to protecting our most critical assets and our top priority at this time is to protect the health sector." The body claimed that the known targets of APT29 included UK, Canada, and US vaccine research development groups.
However, in the last few days, Russia was in the news for developing the first coronavirus vaccine, which according to them is tested and safe for treating the disease. The nation also claimed that it is going to launch the vaccine in the coming month.
