Hackers attacked Biontech servers

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) repositories were attacked by hackers with the intention of accessing information about the BioNTech-Pfizer coronavirus vaccine. Pfizer says that no damage was done to the systems and no data was breached.

On Wednesday evening, December 9, the European Medicines Agency announced a failed attempt by hackers to infiltrate data reserves related to the coronavirus vaccine. The agency's statement said that European authorities have launched an investigation into the origin of the cyberattack, but details, including the timing, are not clear.

The agency, which has been in the spotlight for approving a coronavirus vaccine, had previously reported on the cyberattack.

The European Medicines Agency has emphasized that the hackers' efforts will not have any impact on vaccine testing and distribution trials.

The Amsterdam-based body is responsible for approving all medicines in the European Union, including the coronavirus vaccine. The agency is currently in the final stages of approving the vaccine produced by BioNTech-Pfizer and issuing a license for it by the end of December 2020.

The BionTech vaccine is the first vaccine worldwide to be widely used to protect against coronavirus, which began in the United Kingdom on December 8.

The US concern Pfizer and its German pharmaceutical partner BioNTech had previously asked the US authorities to issue an emergency authorization for the distribution of the coronavirus vaccine. The US Food and Drug Administration's advisory committee will deliberate on the request on Thursday, December 10.

According to the managers of two research and pharmaceutical companies, BioNTech and Pfizer, the effectiveness of the coronavirus vaccine they produce is 95 percent.

The positive details they published about the vaccine's safety and possible side effects were the cornerstone of obtaining emergency authorization for the vaccine from the US Food and Drug Administration.

Source: DW