Security warning: State-backed hackers are trying to steal coronavirus research>
ZD Net – Danny Palmer
Joint warning from UK National Cyber Security Centre and US Department of Homeland Security warns that cyberattackers are actively targeting healthcare with a variety of hacking tricks.

Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) groups â sophisticated hacking groups generally linked to a nation-state â are looking to get hold of information about national COVID-19 responses, healthcare research or other sensitive data related to coronavirus, and are targeting organisations in sectors including healthcare, pharmaceuticals, academia, medical research and local government, says the joint advisory.

Cyberattacks against these targets â particularly those relating to coronavirus research â are useful for state-backed operations because they could potentially provide an avenue for aiding their own domestic research into coronavirus-related medicine. One area that’s particularly being targeted as an entry point for attacks, the security agencies have warned, is international supply chains.

APT groups targeting healthcare and other essential services are also attempting to use large-scale “password-spraying” campaigns, deploying brute force attacks using common passwords against healthcare providers in the UK, US and other countries. These attacks are being investigated by both NCSC and CISA.
Link: https://www.zdnet.com/article/security-warning-state-backed-hackers-are-trying-to-steal-coronavirus-research/