LONDON (AP) – The European Union’s drug regulator said on Friday that COVID – 19 vaccine documents stolen by hackers on its servers had not only been leaked onto the internet but had also been “manipulated”.
The European Medicines Agency said that an ongoing investigation has shown that hackers have been receiving emails and documents related to the evaluation of experimental coronavirus vaccinations since November. The agency, which regulates drugs and medicines in the EU with 27 members, had very confidential COVID-19 data as part of the vaccination approval process.
“Some correspondence was manipulated by the offenders before publication in a way that could undermine confidence in vaccines,” the Dutch agency said.
“We have seen that some of the correspondence has not been published in its integrity and original form, or, with, comments or additions by the offenders.”
The agency did not explain exactly what information was changed, but cyber security experts believe such practices are typical of disinformation campaigns launched by governments.
The Italian cyber security firm Yarix said it found the 33 megabyte leak on a well-known underground forum entitled “Surprising fraud! Bose Pfffizer! Fake vaccines! It was apparently first posted on December 30 and later appeared on other websites, including the dark web, the company said on its website.
Yarix said “The intent behind the leak by cybercriminals is certain: to significantly undermine the reputation and credibility of EMA and Pfizer.”
The cyber security consultant Lukasz Olejnik said he believed the intent was much broader.
“I fear that this release has significant potential to sow distrust in the EMA process, vaccines and vaccination in Europe in general,” he said. “While it is unclear who may be behind this operation, it is clear that someone is determined to allocate resources to it.”
“This is an unprecedented operation aimed at validating pharmaceuticals, with potentially broad negative effects on the health of Europeans if it leads to the undermining of confidence in the vaccine,” Olejnik added.
The EMA said law enforcement agencies are taking “essential steps” in response to the cap and a criminal investigation is ongoing.
It is said that, in view of the devastating toll of the pandemic, there is an “urgent public health need to make vaccines available to EU citizens as soon as possible.” The EMA insisted that, despite the urgency, its decisions to recommend green vaccination of vaccines were based “on the strength of the scientific evidence of the safety, quality and efficacy of a vaccine, and nothing else.”
The EMA, based in Amsterdam, came under criticism from Germany and other EU member states in December for failing to approve faster vaccines against the virus. The agency issued its first recommendation for the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine a few weeks after the survey was approved in Britain, the United States, Canada and elsewhere.
The EMA recommends a second vaccine made by Moderna earlier this month. A third shot made by AstraZeneca and Oxford is currently being considered by the agency.
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AP technology writer Frank Bajak made a contribution from Boston.
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