The South Korean Vaccine Hack by North Korea

The South Korean Vaccine Hack by North Korea - The progress of making a vaccine for the corona virus is increasingly encouraging. At least, there are three vaccines that have an effectiveness of up to 90 percent more. The three vaccines are Pfizer which has an effectiveness level of 95 percent, the Moderna vaccine which has an effectiveness of 94.5 percent and Sputnik V which is claimed to have an effectiveness of up to 92 percent.

As vaccine developments seem to find such bright spots, there are those who try to get information from the manufacturers. One of the suspects was North Korean hackers.

1. The South Korean Intelligence Service thwarts hacking efforts

A conservative member of the intelligence committee in the South Korean parliament said North Korean hackers were trying to attack the security systems of a South Korean vaccine maker. However, these hacking efforts were successfully thwarted.
Launching from The Guardian, a member of the intelligence committee named Ha Tae-kung and gave information that the hacker attacks targeted several companies that had vaccine candidates in various stages of clinical trials (27/11). Ha Tae-kung did not name the companies the hackers hacked at.
There is no detailed description of how the South Korean Intelligence Service thwarted hacking by hackers. However, local authorities say that North Korea has employed about 6,000 hackers. Most of the hackers are based in China, Russia and other countries.

2. Kim Jong Un ordered “unreasonable” actions because of the “paranoia” of COVID-19

There is no clear explanation about the motivation for the hacking that was carried out. However, the South Korean Intelligence Service (NIS) gave a statement conveyed by Ha Tae-kung that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un showed excessive anger and took "unreasonable" actions because he was paranoid about the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak. .
Reporting from the Reuters news agency, some of the unreasonable action orders are to ban fishing and prohibit the production of sea salt water which may have been contaminated with the virus (27/11). To reporters, Ha conveyed "He (Kim Jong Un) has exerted excessive emotions, anger and signs of distress, as well as increasingly giving orders that make no sense".
Information obtained by the Associated Press shows that the South Korean Intelligence Service also provided information on other nonsensical orders, such as executing a well-known money changer in Pyongyang after detaining people deemed responsible for the depreciation of the currency (27/11). There are also top government officials in North Korea who have been executed for violating restrictions on baggage from abroad.

3. North Korean hackers also tried to break into AstraZeneca

Another potential vaccine candidate is made in Oxford, England, namely AstraZeneca. AstraZeneca is claimed to have an effectiveness of up to more than 70 percent. This encouraging information is also not spared from hacking attempts conducted by North Korean hackers.
An exclusive report released by the Reuters news agency explained that the hackers went undercover on the LinkedIn website and via WhatsApp to approach AstraZeneca staff and send fake job offer documents. In the document that was sent, there was a malicious code designed to be able to access the victim's computer.
Cyber ​​attacks have surged in numbers, especially against health institutions, vaccine scientists and drug manufacturers in recent weeks. Criminal groups likely to be backed by the state are racing to get the latest information on the development of the outbreak and the latest vaccines.
AstraZeneca itself refused to comment on the hacking news. Pyongyang's representatives in Geneva also did not comment on allegations of hackers trying to hack information on vaccine developments at companies researching the coronavirus vaccine.