For months, several pharmaceutical companies have been targeted by cyber attacks in several countries. According to the Microsoft company, seven companies located in France, the United States, Canada, India and South Korea are currently experiencing data theft attempts.
Several techniques are used. First there is the password search and brute force connection attempts, that is, using software that tests all possibilities. There are also a lot of phishing attacks, through bogus job ads or messages in which hackers pose as representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO). big economic stake. The objective could therefore be to steal information or simply to slow down the laboratories in their discoveries.
In its last note on the subject, Microsoft clearly designates several known hacker groups. First, a group based in Russia, Strontium, also known as APT28 and Fancy Bear, which already stood out in 2016 during the US presidential election with pro-Trump disinformation campaigns. North Korea is also targeted, with two groups of pirates, known as Zinc and Cerium. Last May, the FBI also warned that Chinese hackers were very active.
Microsoft clearly accuses States of either being complicit or of doing nothing to fight against this cybercrime. Note that the majority of hacking attempts against pharmaceutical companies have been blocked.
