North Korean hackers tried to break into the computer systems of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer in a search for information about the coronavirus vaccine and treatment technology, the South Korean spy agency said on Tuesday, according to a South Korean parliamentarian.
The impoverished nuclear-armed North has been self-imposed since closing its borders in January last year to try to protect itself from the virus that first appeared in neighboring China and has continued to sweep the world, killing more than two million people. people.
Leader Kim Jong Un has repeatedly insisted that the country has not had cases of coronavirus, although foreign experts doubt the allegations.
And the closure added to pressure on its economy to shake off international sanctions on its banned weapons systems, increasing the urgency for Pyongyang to find a way to deal with the disease.
Seoul’s National Intelligence Service “informed us that North Korea was trying to obtain technology involving the Covid vaccine and treatment using cyber warfare to enter Pfizer,” Ha Tae-keung, a member of parliament, told reporters after a hearing behind closed doors.
North Korea is known to operate an army of thousands of well-trained hackers who have attacked companies, institutions and researchers in the south and elsewhere.
The Pfizer coronavirus vaccine, developed jointly with BioNTech in Germany, began to gain the approval of the authorities at the end of last year.
It is based on a technology that uses the synthetic version of a molecule called “messenger RNA” to hack human cells and effectively turn them into vaccine factories.
Pfizer says it expects to deliver up to 2 billion doses this year.
The company’s South Korean office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from AFP.