Microsoft accused Russia of cyberattacks against manufacturers of vaccines and tests for COVID-19

Microsoft vice president of security Tom Burt said that hackers from Russia and North Korea were trying to attack pharmaceutical companies and developers of coronavirus vaccines around the world.

Bert's statement is posted on the Microsoft blog. It follows that over the past month, seven companies from Canada, France, India, South Korea and the United States have become victims of hacker attacks. Most of them are directly involved in the development of coronavirus vaccines, one of the companies produces tests.

Three state-linked groups were behind the attacks, the statement said: Strontium (also known as Fancy Bear) from Russia, and the Zinc and Cerium groups from North Korea.

Russian hackers tried to gain access to the accounts of employees of pharmaceutical companies by brute force and "spraying" passwords. North Korean hackers used phishing mailings, including on behalf of WHO representatives. Most of the attacks, according to Microsoft, were blocked, but whether any of them were successful and what their consequences are is not reported.

• The Strontium organization, or Fancy Bear, has already been accused of hacking US organizations - it was she who was credited with hacking into the servers of the leadership of the US Democratic Party before the 2016 elections.

• Prior to this, accused Russia of trying to steal a vaccine against COVID-19. the special services of Great Britain, the United States and Canada