Iranian cyber-attack targeted American coronavirus drugmaker Gilead: report
Iran-linked hackers carried out multiple attempts to gain access to Gilead employee emails in recent weeks, the news agency said, based on its review of web archives and interviews with three cybersecurity researchers.
Citing an intelligence researcher at Israeli cybersecurity firm ClearSky, Reuters reported that a cyberattack was carried out by an Iranian group as part of efforts to compromise Gilead employee email accounts by impersonating journalists.
One of the attempts involved sending a fake email login page to a top Gilead executive, according to the report.
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In comments to Reuters, Alireza Miryousefi, a spokesperson for Iran’s mission to the United Nations, denied the country’s involvement in cyber warfare.
"Cyber activities Iran engages in are purely defensive and to protect against further attacks on Iranian infrastructure," Miryousefi was quoted as saying.
Read also: Clash of the internet: The rise of Iran's cyber warfare against US and the Gulf
A spokesman for Gilead declined a Reuters request for comment citing a company policy against discussing cybersecurity matters.
Iran's motives for the reported attack remained unclear, while the country has recorded a total of over 105,000 coronavirus cases, resulting in 6,541 deaths as of Saturday.
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