The United States Department of Homeland Security has sent hundreds of notifications of potential vulnerabilities to the medical sector, NBC News reports, warning them of hacking attempts.
An official who spoke this week at a webinar hosted by cybersecurity company CrowdStrike noted that "tier one" institutions are prime targets for hackers trying to access research into potential coronavirus vaccines or treatments. "Tier one" institutions include universities and pharmaceutical companies, and it is believed that several in various countries have already been attacked by sophisticated hackers, suspected to be Chinese.