Iran-linked hackers recently targeted US coronavirus drugmaker, say sources


FILE PHOTO Gilead Sciences Inc pharmaceutical company is seen after they announced a Phase 3 Trial of the investigational antiviral drug Remdesivir in patients with severe coronavirus disease COVID-19 during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease COVID-19 in Oceanside California U.S. April 29 2020. REUTERSMike BlakeFile Photo

The hacking infrastructure used in the attempt to compromise the Gilead executive's email account has previously been used in cyberattacks by a group of suspected Iranian hackers known as "Charming Kitten”, said Moriuchi. — Reuters

LONDON/WASHINGTON: Hackers linked to Iran have targeted staff at US drugmaker Gilead Sciences Inc in recent weeks, according to publicly-available web archives reviewed by Reuters and three cybersecurity researchers, as the company races to deploy a treatment for the Covid-19 virus.

In one case, a fake email login page designed to steal passwords was sent in April to a top Gilead executive involved in legal and corporate affairs, according to an archived version on a website used to scan for malicious web addresses. Reuters was not able to determine whether the attack was successful.

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