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COVID-19 vaccine data leaked online by hackers, EMA says

pharmafile | January 14, 2021 | News story | |  EMA, Pfizer, Vaccine, data 

The EMA has confirmed that data relating to COVID-19 medicines and vaccines that was stolen by hackers in December have been leaked on the internet.

It was reported last month that hackers had breached an EMA server to access regulatory submission documents for the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, with the companies unable to confirm whether or not trial participant data had been compromised during the cyberattack.

Ongoing investigations into the data breach have now revealed that some of the vaccine information accessed by the hackers has since been leaked on to internet. The EMA was made aware of the leak after Italian cybersecurity firm Yarix said it had found a blog posted containing confidential emails and documents relating to the Pfizer jab’s approval and production.

The EMA has said in a statement that necessary action is being taken by the law enforcement authorities, and that individuals whose data may have been accessed unlawfully will be notified.

The regulatory body wrote: “The Agency and the European medicines regulatory network remain fully functional and timelines related to the evaluation and approval of COVID-19 medicines and vaccines are not affected.

“EMA will continue to provide information in due course, to the extent possible, given its duty towards the ongoing investigation.”

Darcy Jimenez

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