Security News > 2020 > December > EU Agency Assessing Covid-19 Vaccines Hit by Cyberattack
The EU's medicines regulator said Wednesday it had been the victim of a cyberattack, just weeks before it is due to decide on special approval for two coronavirus vaccines.
"EMA has been the subject of a cyberattack. The agency has swiftly launched a full investigation, in close cooperation with law enforcement and other relevant entities," the EMA said in a brief statement.
The agency has said it will give a decision on conditional approval for Pfizer/BioNTech's Covid-19 vaccine at a meeting that will be held by December 29 at the latest, while a ruling on Moderna's version should follow by January 12.
News of the cyberattack came the day before the EMA's chief Emer Cooke was due to brief the European Parliament about the process for approving coronavirus vaccines.
Cybercriminals have tried to attack several pharmaceutical companies developing vaccines including Johnson & Johnson, Novavax, AstraZeneca and South Korean laboratories, according to the Wall Street Journal.