The Covid-19 vaccine “cold chain” is under attack from an unnamed nation state, according to IBM researchers.
Hackers, most likely sponsored by a government, have been targeting the Covid-19 vaccine “cold chain,” made up of companies keeping vaccines at low temperatures to remain stable and usable, according to a U.S. government alert on Thursday. The warning came after IBM researchers discovered phishing attacks launched by hackers pretending to be an executive at Haier, a Chinese company that provides cooling systems for medicines that claims to be the world’s only complete cold chain provider. The cold chain is vital for vaccine storage and transport. The Pfizer vaccine, which has proven one of the most promising Covid-19 treatments, needs to be stored at minus 70 degrees Celsius (-94°F) to remain effective. Recent attacks have been launched directly on vaccine developers, but in this case the hackers went after tangentially-linked entities. One target was European Commission’s Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union, which deals with trade and cross-border regulations. Solar energy companies were also targeted. As IBM noted in its research, shown to Forbes ahead of publication, vaccine refrigerators are often powered by solar panels in nations where traditional supplies aren’t reliable.
