A cyber attack is not only for the extort money purpose. Attackers may also try to unfold secrets and sometimes to intentionally manipulate original. The unique solution against this risk, should always be the transparency backed by the technology. In this case, the subject is the health of the population not the nuclear matter. So no danger of death ahead. Therefore, the transparacy by releasing contents and comparing it, has the maximum chance to convince the public of the manipulation.
The message sender should register a copy of the original mail following the course of action :
- add an additional recipient to the business message
- use a smtp of the extra recipient managed by another mail server
- in case of dispute or litigation, retreive original mail file (.eml), its hash-256, the hash-256 record on the blockchain
- Show the evidences of proof with contents exchanged during this time range
Prerequisites :
- The smtp server of the additional recipient should be protected from attack elsewhere
- The mailbox of the additional recipient should be strongly protected
- The mail of the additional recipient should be recorded on the blockchain (only the has-256 is actually stored). Use Certisio solution with API/JSON or/and simply Bcc recipient
- Collect the mail of other recipients. Caution : since the recipient could agree for changing the original mail, the blockchain record remains mandatory
Anyone (ie an attacker) pretending pointing fingers on confidential data would be ridiculed by trying fooling the public. No other way would convince people currently sharing so many unveiled plot and conspiracy due to too many secrets hidden
One needs just to compare the two hash-256, the one from eml of the recipient and the one from the EMA agency not deleted after sending it
We add below 2 articles about the attacks and the point of view of the EMA, we used as 2 sources
Cyberattack: EMA says leaked documents ‘manipulated’
Posted 15 January 2021 | By Michael Mezher
Documents related to COVID-19 vaccines that were unlawfully accessed in a cyberattack against the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and subsequently leaked online were intentionally manipulated, the agency said on Friday.
EMA first disclosed the hack in December and said at the time it had launched a full investigation in cooperation with law enforcement and other authorities. Since then, vaccine frontrunners Pfizer and BioNTech and Moderna have released statements acknowledging that documents related to their COVID-19 vaccine submissions were accessed.
Earlier this week, in its fourth update on the attack, EMA said it had learned that some of the documents that were accessed had been leaked online. (Updated: Documents leaked to the internet in wake of EMA cyberattack, Regulatory Focus 12 January 2021).
Now, in its latest update, EMA has disclosed that the leaked documents included internal confidential email correspondence from November relating to its evaluation processes for COVID-19 vaccines. “Some of the correspondence has been manipulated by the perpetrators prior to publication in a way which could undermine trust in vaccines,” EMA said.
EMA’s disclosure of the leak came one day after Italian cybersecurity firm Yarix said it found confidential documents related to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on the dark web. The firm said it found a post on a forum containing more than 33 megabytes of files. Privacy and security expert Lukasz Olejnik tweeted what appears to be a screenshot of the leaked file directory and wrote that the manipulation of the documents point to an actor wanting to discourage vaccination by sowing disinformation about the integrity of the review process.
In its statement, EMA sought to assure that its review, while rapid and conducted with urgency, was not compromised. “Despite this urgency, there has always been a consensus across the EU not to compromise the high-quality standards and to base any recommendation on the strength of the scientific evidence on a vaccine’s safety, quality and efficacy, and nothing else.”
EMA also points out that it has released details of its scientific assessments for both vaccines on its website and the agency has committed to increased transparency for COVID-19-related products.
EMA © 2021 Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society
The ongoing investigation of the cyberattack on EMA revealed that some of the unlawfully accessed documents related to COVID-19 medicines and vaccines have been leaked on the internet.
This included internal/confidential email correspondence dating from November, relating to evaluation processes for COVID-19 vaccines. Some of the correspondence has been manipulated by the perpetrators prior to publication in a way which could undermine trust in vaccines.
Two EU marketing authorisations for COVID-19 vaccines have been granted at the end of December/beginning of January following an independent scientific assessment.
Amid the high infection rate in the EU, there is an urgent public health need to make vaccines available to EU citizens as soon as possible. Despite this urgency, there has always been consensus across the EU not to compromise the high-quality standards and to base any recommendation on the strength of the scientific evidence on a vaccine’s safety, quality and efficacy, and nothing else.
EMA is in constant dialogue with the EC, and other regulators across the network and internationally. Authorisations are granted when the evidence shows convincingly that the benefits of vaccination are greater than any risks of the vaccine. Full details of the scientific assessments are publicly available in the European Public Assessment Reports on EMA’s website.
The Agency continues to fully support the criminal investigation into the data breach. Necessary action is being taken by the law enforcement authorities.
EMA will continue to provide information in due course, to the extent possible, given its duty towards the ongoing investigation.
Cyberattack on EMA – update 5
Share News 15/01/2021
The ongoing investigation of the cyberattack on EMA revealed that some of the unlawfully accessed documents related to COVID-19 medicines and vaccines have been leaked on the internet.
This included internal/confidential email correspondence dating from November, relating to evaluation processes for COVID-19 vaccines. Some of the correspondence has been manipulated by the perpetrators prior to publication in a way which could undermine trust in vaccines.
Two EU marketing authorisations for COVID-19 vaccines have been granted at the end of December/beginning of January following an independent scientific assessment.
Amid the high infection rate in the EU, there is an urgent public health need to make vaccines available to EU citizens as soon as possible. Despite this urgency, there has always been consensus across the EU not to compromise the high-quality standards and to base any recommendation on the strength of the scientific evidence on a vaccine’s safety, quality and efficacy, and nothing else.
EMA is in constant dialogue with the EC, and other regulators across the network and internationally. Authorisations are granted when the evidence shows convincingly that the benefits of vaccination are greater than any risks of the vaccine. Full details of the scientific assessments are publicly available in the European Public Assessment Reports on EMA’s website.
The Agency continues to fully support the criminal investigation into the data breach. Necessary action is being taken by the law enforcement authorities.
EMA will continue to provide information in due course, to the extent possible, given its duty towards the ongoing investigation.
