North Korea allegedly hacked Pfizer in a bid to acquire Covid-19 vaccine technology gettyKey FactsSouth Korea’s National Intelligence Service briefed lawmakers on the North’s attempts to hack Pfizer in a closed door session Tuesday, lawmakers told reporters. North Korea has been accused of trying to steal vaccine technology before, including attacks on nine vaccine researchers in 2020. North Korea is not the only country to allegedly try stealing Covid-19 vaccine tech, which is an increasingly precious commodity as the pandemic continues to rage and vaccine demand outstrips supply. The U.S. government, for example, claimed to have identified attacks from China and Iran last May, while in November, Microsoft warned of Russian and North Korean hackers targeting pharmaceutical companies and researchers working on vaccines. Further ReadingSouth Korean spy agency says North Korea hackers tried stealing Pfizer vaccine know-how: Yonhap (Reuters)N. Korea attempted to steal COVID-19 vaccine, treatment technology via hacking: NIS (Yonhap)N. Korean Hackers Have Reportedly Attacked Nine Covid Vaccine Researchers, Developers (Forbes)Full coverage and live updates on the Coronavirus

Source: Forbes February 16, 2021 11:15 UTC