North Korean hackers tried to break into the computer systems of pharmaceutical company Pfizer to access information about a coronavirus vaccine, according to a South Korean lawmaker and several reports.
The Seoul National Intelligence Service “informed us that North Korea tried to obtain technology involving Covid’s vaccine and treatment using cyberwar to invade Pfizer,” said parliamentarian Ha Tae-keung after a closed-door hearing, according to Agence France-Presse.
The US State Department and Pfizer did not immediately respond to emails from Fox News.
The attempt reported by North Korea, while bold, is not so surprising. UN security experts recently discovered that North Korean hackers stole about $ 316 million to improve their nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.
NORTH KOREA HACKERS STOLE US $ 316 million TO IMPROVE NUKES, BALLISTIC MISSILES, EXPERTS SAY
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un attends a Workers’ Party Politburo meeting in Pyongyang, North Korea, on November 15, 2020. (Korea Central News Agency / Korea News Service via AP, Archive )
North Korea has also been associated with significant cyber attacks, which the country denies. They include a 2013 campaign that impacted the servers of South Korean financial institutions, the Sony Pictures invasion in 2014 and the 2017 WannaCry malware attack.
Leader Kim Jong Un insisted that the country had no cases of coronavirus. North Korea last year imposed a border blockade and increased quarantine measures in an effort to prevent an outbreak of COVID-19.
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Pfizer plans to manufacture two billion doses of the COVID-19 vaccine this year, according to the international news agency based in Paris, France.
Audrey Conklin of Fox News and the Associated Press contributed to this report