North Korean hackers have tried to break into the computer systems of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer in a search for information on a coronavirus vaccine and treatment technology, the South Korean spy agency said, according to a South Korean lawmaker on Tuesday.
The impoverished, nuclear-armed North has been under self-imposed isolation since its borders were closed in January last year to try to protect itself from the virus that first emerged in neighboring China and further devoured the world, killing more than two million people. killed. people.
Leader Kim Jong Un has repeatedly insisted that the country had no cases of coronavirus, although outside experts doubt the allegations.
And the closure has added to the pressure on its faltering economy due to international sanctions imposed on its banned weapons systems, which have increased the urgency for Pyongyang to find a way to deal with the disease.
Seoul’s national intelligence service “told us that North Korea was trying to acquire technology that uses the Covid vaccine and treatment through cyberware to hack into Pfizer,” said Ha Tae-keung of parliament.
North Korea is known to be deploying an army of thousands of well-trained hackers who have attacked companies, institutions and researchers in the South and elsewhere.
Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine, developed with German BioNTech, began receiving regulatory approval late last year.
It is based on technology that uses the synthetic version of a molecule called ‘messenger RNA’ to dig into human cells and make them effective in vaccination factories.
Pfizer says it expects to deliver up to 2 billion doses this year.
The South Korean office did not immediately respond to a request for comment by AFP.