IBM flags more cyber attacks on COVID vaccine infrastructure

(Reuters) - International Business Machines Corp said on Wednesday its cybersecurity unit has uncovered more digital attacks targeting the global COVID-19 vaccine supply chain since the issue was originally flagged late last year.

The cloud services provider said it recently found that the phishing campaign has targeted 44 more companies which are involved in the complex logistical work of distribution of COVID-19 vaccines in 14 countries.

The campaign is targeting organizations associated with the COVID-19 vaccine "cold chain" - the process needed to keep vaccine doses at extremely cold temperatures as they travel from manufacturers to recipients.

IBM said some of the mails from hackers were sent several months in advance of the approval of any vaccine variant. It has previously said hackers were using meticulously crafted booby-trapped emails sent in the name of an executive with Haier Biomedical, a Chinese cold chain provider.

(Reporting by Munsif Vengattil in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)