17 July
The United States, Britain and Canada say a Russian group is very likely to have mounted cyberattacks to collect research data on coronavirus vaccines.
The three countries' intelligence agencies made the announcement in statements on Thursday.
The US National Security Agency says a cyber-espionage group publicly known as APT29 has targeted various organizations in the three nations. It says the targets include governmental, think-tank, healthcare and other institutions.
The agency says it is "highly likely" that the group intends to steal information and intellectual property relating to the development and testing of COVID-19 vaccines. It says the group is "almost certainly part of the Russian intelligence services."
The statements do not mention whether or not any vaccine information has been stolen.
The US statement says APT29 is using custom malware known as WellMess and WellMail to target a number of organizations globally.
The NSA is disclosing information on the malware and is calling on other countries to stay on the alert.
In response, Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, "We can say one thing: Russia has nothing to do with these attempts."
The Russian Direct Investment Fund is seeking to develop a vaccine against the coronavirus. Its Chief Executive Officer, Kirill Dmitriev, said people apprehensive of a Russian vaccine success are trying to tarnish its reputation.
NHK
