Documents related to the development of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine were “unlawfully accessed” in a cyber attack on Europe’s medicines regulators, the firms have said. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) confirmed earlier that it had been subjected to a cyber attack but did not provide any details beyond saying a “full investigation” had been launched. The EMA is working on approval of two Covid-19 vaccines, which it expects to conclude within weeks.
Pfizer and BioNTech said documents relating to their vaccine candidate had been accessed, but that "no systems have been breached in connection with this incident." "We are unaware of any personal data being accessed," Pfizer said in a statement, while BioNTech said it was "unaware that any study participants have been identified through the data being accessed."
The EMA, which authorises the use of medicines across the EU, assured BioNTech that the attack “will have no impact on the timeline for its review”. The agency is due to complete its review by 29 December.
Meanwhile, Britain's cyber watchdog said it was "working with international partners to understand the impact of this incident affecting the EU's medicine regulator." "There is currently no evidence to suggest that the UK's medicine regulator had been affected," AFP quoted the National Cyber Security Centre as saying in a statement.
Britain on Tuesday started rolling out the first vaccine jabs in the Western world of Pfizer and BioNTech's vaccine.
Warnings about hacking
There have been a series of warnings about hacking related to the coronavirus pandemic.
In July, Britain accused Russian-based, Kremlin-linked hackers of targeting labs conducting coronavirus vaccine research.
Cybercriminals have tried to attack several pharmaceutical companies developing vaccines including Johnson & Johnson, Novavax, AstraZeneca and South Korean laboratories, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Reuters has previously reported on allegations that hackers linked to North Korea, South Korea, Iran, Vietnam, China and Russia have on separate occasions tried to steal information about the virus and potential treatments.
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