According to a source, North Korean hackers have been accused of trying to hack the system of British drug manufacturer AstraZeneca in recent weeks, as the company raced to use its vaccine to curb the spread of Covid-19.
In addition, the hackers used LinkedIn and WhatsApp networks to approach AstraZeneca staff with fake job offers. Next, they sent the document as a job description attached with malicious code to gain access to the victim's computer.
In addition, the hacking attempt targeted a large group of individuals including staff working at the Covid-19 research center.
However, the North Korean Mission to the UN in Geneva did not want to comment on the issue. Previously, Pyongyang had denied that they carried out cyber attacks and had no direct contact with foreign media.
AstraZeneca, which has emerged as one of the top three developers of the Covid-19 vaccine, also declined to comment.
In addition, there are also sources revealing that part of the ongoing hacking campaign is linked to US officials and cyber security researchers to North Korea.
In this regard, Western officials say that any information stolen can be sold for profit, used to blackmail victims, or give strategic advantages to foreign governments as they compete to curb the disease that has killed 1.4 million people worldwide.
Meanwhile, Microsoft also revealed that there are 2 groups of North Korean hackers targeting vaccine developers in several countries, including sending orders with fake job descriptions.
In addition, South Korean lawmakers say the country's intelligence agencies have thwarted several such attempts.
Previously, North Korea has been sued by U.S. prosecutors for some of the world's most daring and destructive cyber attacks, including hacking and email leaks from Sony Pictures in 2014, the 2016 theft involving $ 81 million from the Central Bank of Bangladesh, and released the Wannacry ransomware virus in 2017.
However, Pyongyang described the allegations as an attempt by Washington to tarnish its image.
