North Korea hackers blamed

NORTH KOREAN hackers attempted to steal information about coronavirus vaccines and treatments, South Korea’s intelligence service claimed yesterday, but it later denied a legislator’s claim that vaccine maker Pfizer was targeted.

Earlier yesterday, Ha Taekeung, a member of parliament’s intelligence committee, told reporters that the National Intelligence Service (NIS) told him and other legislators during a closed-door briefing that North Korea hacked Pfizer to obtain Covid-19 vaccine technology.

After Mr Ha’s comments made headlines, the NIS said it did not mention any pharmaceutical company by name when it told legislators that North Korean hackers were going after coronavirus vaccine information.

In an unusual rebuke, the NIS public affairs office called Mr Ha’s comments “wrong”.

Acquiring coronavirus vaccines is crucial for North Korea, whose public healthcare system is in shambles.

Many outside experts are highly sceptical about North Korea’s claims to have had no coronavirus cases, but say the country has probably avoided a widespread outbreak thanks to more than a year of stringent lockdowns.