Hacking Incidents on U.S. Vaccine Companies Rise as Pandemic Rages

By  //  August 11, 2020

Covid-19 brought the world to its knees. All nations are struggling to manage the pandemic amidst the rising cases. As of August 6, there are 4.83 million Covid-19 cases in the US and 159,000 deaths.

Covid-19 brought the world to its knees. All nations are struggling to manage the pandemic amidst the rising cases. As of August 6, there are 4.83 million Covid-19 cases in the US and 159,000 deaths

Pharmaceutical companies are rushing their clinical trials, and other processes meant to acquire a vaccine. The US is known for its innovation, and attackers have targeted US pharmaceutical companies on many occasions. 

Foreign hackers targeting the US

As the coronavirus began to spread in the US, American pharmaceutical companies faced increased cyber threats. On March 13, ExecuPharm was targeted by hackers who accessed employee files and other internal data.

The Maze ransomware attack managed to steal data from the facility and published it online in exchange for ransom. The Maze attack was one of the many threats facing the US pharmaceutical companies. 

Yet, cybercrime gangs had pledged not to attack healthcare and medical companies. 

The FBI has warned of an increase in COVID-19 scams targeting pharmaceutical industries. The attackers are using a new Windows ransomware campaign to take advantage of coronavirus fear. The FBI blames Chinese hackers who are interested in the COVID-19 vaccine.

Biomedical research has been a significant goal for China’s espionage, which will increase during the Covid-19 era. 

How vaccine companies can protect themselves 

Vaccine companies can protect themselves by adopting comprehensive cybersecurity tools that comprise good logging policies and high levels of encryption. They must go beyond basic security measures such as updating anti-virus software. 

Vaccine companies can protect themselves by adopting comprehensive cybersecurity tools that comprise good logging policies and high levels of encryption. They must go beyond basic security measures such as updating anti-virus software. 

A comprehensive cybersecurity plan is about identifying all the potential weaknesses that attackers can exploit. After identifying the weaknesses, the company must implement a foolproof security strategy. Vaccine companies should re-evaluate their security protocols regularly to ensure they are still valid. 

Cybersecurity goes beyond network security, database, and endpoint security, among other components. Mobile security is an essential aspect of cybersecurity, and so is employee education. In most cases, the attackers accessed employee information such as company IDs and login details to use to access private information.

Vaccine companies must implement robust company-wide best practices to educate employees not to fall victim to phishing scams and other attacks. 

Taking Advantage of VPNs

US vaccine companies should use VPNs as part of their cybersecurity strategies as hacking incidents are becoming more frequent. VPNs ensure that your data remains private as you send over the internet.

US vaccine companies should use VPNs as part of their cybersecurity strategies as hacking incidents are becoming more frequent. VPNs ensure that your data remains private as you send over the internet.

Vaccine companies deal with sensitive information such as patient information and the progress of clinical trials. With a VPN, sensitive information will be protected from prying eyes as the vaccine companies share it online. 

Many of the VPN options in the market ranked “the safestbest VPN” support 256-bit encryption and hide IP addresses so that hackers cannot access your data packets. ExpressVPN has the best features in the market while maintaining a high speed. It guarantees anonymity on the internet.

There are other VPNs in the market that are also effective. It is always important to do an accurate VPN test to identify the best VPN for your business. 

CLICK HERE FOR BREVARD COUNTY NEWS