March 2010 April 2010 May 2010 June 2010 July 2010
August 2010
September 2010 October 2010
November 2010
December 2010
January 2011
February 2011 March 2011 April 2011 May 2011 June 2011 July 2011 August 2011 September 2011 October 2011 November 2011 December 2011 January 2012 February 2012 March 2012 April 2012 May 2012 June 2012 July 2012 August 2012 September 2012 October 2012 November 2012 December 2012 January 2013 February 2013 March 2013 April 2013 May 2013 June 2013 July 2013 August 2013 September 2013 October 2013 November 2013 December 2013 January 2014 February 2014 March 2014 April 2014 May 2014 June 2014 July 2014 August 2014 September 2014 October 2014 November 2014 December 2014 January 2015 February 2015 March 2015 April 2015 May 2015 June 2015 July 2015 August 2015 September 2015 October 2015 November 2015 December 2015 January 2016 February 2016 March 2016 April 2016 May 2016 June 2016 July 2016 August 2016 September 2016 October 2016 November 2016 December 2016 January 2017 February 2017 March 2017 April 2017 May 2017 June 2017 July 2017 August 2017 September 2017 October 2017 November 2017 December 2017 January 2018 February 2018 March 2018 April 2018 May 2018 June 2018 July 2018 August 2018 September 2018 October 2018 November 2018 December 2018 January 2019 February 2019 March 2019 April 2019 May 2019 June 2019 July 2019 August 2019 September 2019 October 2019 November 2019 December 2019 January 2020 February 2020 March 2020 April 2020 May 2020 June 2020 July 2020 August 2020 September 2020 October 2020 November 2020 December 2020 January 2021 February 2021 March 2021 April 2021 May 2021 June 2021 July 2021 August 2021 September 2021 October 2021 November 2021 December 2021 January 2022 February 2022 March 2022 April 2022 May 2022 June 2022 July 2022 August 2022 September 2022 October 2022 November 2022 December 2022 January 2023 February 2023 March 2023 April 2023 May 2023 June 2023 July 2023 August 2023 September 2023 October 2023 November 2023 December 2023 January 2024 February 2024 March 2024
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29
30
31
News Every Day |

How bad actors could sabotage a COVID vaccine—and how that can be prevented

Dozens of companies have spent the past months working to develop an effective way to stop COVID-19—and thankfully, we’re starting to see some very promising results. With final phases of testing and trials underway, we must turn our concern to the next stage and consider the idea of a vaccine-related cyberattack.

It’s not unlikely that a bad actor could attempt to sabotage the availability of a vaccine by stalling or preventing its development, or even its distribution, through a targeted attack. Many people wonder how that would even happen, but there are actually quite a few ways that the process could be compromised. (My company Claroty works with manufacturing and pharmaceutical companies to keep their operations secure, so the recommendations that follow could have a positive impact on our business.)

Let’s start at the beginning.

While we’re still in the midst of vaccine development, it’s quite plausible that an attack could happen to stall the progress or run a vaccine trial off-course. The race to develop a vaccine has pushed pharma companies to work faster than ever and race through trial phases. The increased pressure here leaves them incredibly vulnerable to a cyberattack meant to put a stop to a vaccine’s development, similar to the Stuxnet malware discovered back in 2010. This software invaded the automated machine processes in Iran’s manufacturing operations in an attempt by the U.S. and Israel to thwart the country’s development of a nuclear weapon.

Another obvious way that a vaccine could be compromised through a cyberattack is at the manufacturing level. Picture this: After going through many months and different phases of trials, one of the pharmaceutical companies finally gets approval from the Food and Drug Administration to produce and distribute a vaccine. Right away, production will kick into gear.

A cyberattack of this style, specifically intended to tamper with the vaccine formula, would home in on the Internet-connected operational technology (OT) and industrial networks that help run manufacturing facilities. In a vaccine manufacturing facility, attackers would enter the IT systems, either through a virtual private network (VPN) connection or a user or vendor utilizing an insecure mode of remote access. From there, ransomware would be able to spread from the IT to the OT network. 

Vaccines are highly complex materials, compiled of various proteins and in need of near-perfect chemical balance to maintain the properties that make them effective. With such a fine balance, any small changes to the formula would throw off the efficacy and accuracy of the vaccine. An attack of this style would be reminiscent of the cyberattacks on the Israeli Water Authority from earlier this year, which attempted to alter the chlorine levels of the country’s public water supply. 

If a cyberattack were properly identified in time, the vaccine could be remanufactured, but it would result in a backup in its distribution. If not caught before distribution, there could be unknown consequences for the overall health of the recipients.

Now let’s assume all goes right regarding the vaccine’s production. At this point, the vaccines have to be stored somewhere until they get distributed—millions of doses don’t go straight from the factory to the doctor’s office overnight.

Given the delicate nature of the vaccine and its composition, it would likely need to be stored in a temperature-regulated facility to maintain stability and prolong its lifespan. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the ideal temperature for refrigerated vaccine storage is between 36 and 46 degrees Fahrenheit.

Should a bad actor be interested in damaging vaccine distribution, they could stage an attack on the temperature control systems in place. By changing the climate of the warehouses or storage units, the potency of the vaccines could be greatly reduced, which would negatively affect the desired immune response.

Even if the vaccine doses remain fully intact and untampered with throughout the entire production and storage process, there are still plenty of opportunities for vaccination efforts to be compromised. The logistics of shipping and finally distributing a vaccine are prime for a cyberattack, given how often the product would have to change hands getting from the place of origin to the final destination.

This isn’t unlikely; it’s happened before. The 2017 attack on A.P. Møller-Maersk utilized NotPetya malware to completely cripple the shipping and logistics giant, ultimately costing it between $250 and $300 million.

In terms of vaccines, a ransomware attack could affect scheduling software, leading to delays in delivery and affecting the vaccine distribution schedule. Storage rooms could be locked down. Transportation could be rerouted. The connected systems that grant operators visibility into their systems could very well be the downfall of the operations.

Given the global exposure of the vaccine race as well as the monetary investments that have gone into the various companies working to develop them, a cyberattack wouldn’t be surprising. 

At this point, you may be wondering what can be done to defend against such an attack. Thankfully, there are quite a few precautions that vaccine manufacturers and distributors can take.

Gaining full visibility into all systems in use, so that operators can notice immediately when anything out of the ordinary is going on in the systems, and continuous monitoring of the networks will both be key in proactively preventing or quickly responding to any attacks.

Apart from internal solutions, vaccine manufacturers should work in collaboration with external or third-party vendors to ensure that all manufacturers are enforcing the same cybersecurity standards.

Vaccine manufacturers should also consult the extensive list of specific recommendations in the alert issued by the National Security Agency (NSA) and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) on July 23, 2020, which indicates that Internet-accessible OT assets are becoming more prevalent across all 16 U.S. critical infrastructure sectors. The scenarios described cover multiple sectors—chemical, transportation, health care, and public health, and possibly more. The NSA and CISA’s recommendations include having a resilience plan for OT, a well-exercised response plan before an incident occurs, and reducing external exposure to OT networks as much as possible.

Lastly, there is no better time than now for cybersecurity leaders in these affected industries to build coalitions with fellow executives and board members for the vital work cybersecurity teams are performing to protect the company’s operations. Many board members have been very hands-on and involved at an operational level. They have seen how being prepared and having the right technologies and processes in place are essential for adapting to change and creating a more resilient business, so chief information security officers and other security leaders should be in a strong position to garner their support. 

As security teams reassess what risk looks like now and develop plans for how to focus on resilience, strong buy-in at the top is essential.

Guilad Regev is senior vice president of global customer success at Claroty.

More opinion from Fortune:

WTA

Рыбакина, наряду со Свёнтек, имеет 70% побед на WTA-1000 против соперниц из топ-10

The 10 Intense New Action Movies on Netflix That Left Me on the Edge of My Seat!

Top 10 Love Affair Movies of the 2000s and 2010s

Top 10 Emmanuelle Seigner Movies

Top 5 Websites to Watch FREE Movies - TV Shows (No Sign up!)

Ria.city






Read also

Arsenal and Tottenham ‘set to do battle for Pedro Neto as Ange Postecoglou joins transfer race for Wolves star’

Ska punk band Big D and the Kids Table returning to Albany

‘You don’t even know how to use a washing machine’ Vogue Williams scolds dad-of-3 Spencer Matthews for not doing laundry

News, articles, comments, with a minute-by-minute update, now on Today24.pro

News Every Day

Top 10 Emmanuelle Seigner Movies

Today24.pro — latest news 24/7. You can add your news instantly now — here


News Every Day

Top 10 Emmanuelle Seigner Movies



Sports today


Новости тенниса
Даниил Медведев

Теннисист Медведев вышел в полуфинал турнира в Майами, обыграв Харри



Спорт в России и мире
Москва

В хоккейном ЦСКА сменился главный тренер



All sports news today





Sports in Russia today

Москва

Актера Свиридова госпитализировали из-за инфицирования после операции в Москве


Новости России

Game News

Пробный запуск God Wars: Cross Worlds — idle-RPG с богами и путешествиями во времени


Russian.city


Москва

Столичные спасатели усилили контроль безопасности на водоемах из-за активного таяния льда


Губернаторы России
Сергей Собянин

Сергей Собянин: Улучшаем связи между районами


Metaratings: "Спартак" может уволить Абаскаля по ходу сезона, клуб ищет тренера

Шапки женские на Wildberries — скидки от 398 руб. (на новые оттенки)

Московская область - Изготовление металлических навесов

Диетолог Джервасио назвала продукты, которые стоит убрать для разгона метаболизма


Певица Диана Арбенина опубликовала редкое фото матери

"Прости!!!": Пугачева попросила прощения у Манижи

Концерт "Crush string quartet "с программой «Мировые рок - хиты»

Скульптура Сергея Рахманинова украсит музыкальную школу в Кисловодске


Рыбакина о том, что не играла в Индиан-Уэллс из-за болезни: «К сожалению, восстановление заняло много времени»

Виктория Азаренко вышла в полуфинал турнира WTA-1000 в Майами

Рыбакина, наряду со Свёнтек, имеет 70% побед на WTA-1000 против соперниц из топ-10

Хачанов: хочу вернуться в топ-10 ATP



МЧС предупредило о рисках подтоплений в 47 регионах России

Рынок вторичной недвижимости Крыма: цены растут, а спрос?

Эксперты КА «Главный Советник» приняли участие в форуме «Тренды и антитренды корпоративного видео сегодня»

Заказать недорогой ремонт кухонной мебели в районе в Москве и Московской области


Тема дня: Путин поручил комиссии по НТР представить перечень приоритетных направлений

Самые популярные туристические маршруты России: на автомобиле

Тариф – Большой Концертный Тур. Организация серии больших концертов.

Финал всероссийского студенческого трека Олимпиады Кружкового движения НТО «Летающая робототехника» 2024


Певица Сати Казанова поделилась кадрами с фотосессии в откровенном наряде

РЭМЗ: площади растут вместе с выработкой

Ликвидировавшего пожар на контейнерной площадке тракториста наградили в Люберцах

В Москве предложили ввести номерные знаки для велосипедов курьеров



Путин в России и мире






Персональные новости Russian.city
Тимати

Тимати, Shaman, Чеботина и группа «Пикник» посетили акцию «Журавли»



News Every Day

Top 10 Emmanuelle Seigner Movies




Friends of Today24

Музыкальные новости

Персональные новости