Skip to Content
Biotechnology

The health sector is being struck by cyber-espionage

Security researchers say a group of hackers has been targeting firms related to health care in order to steal intellectual property.

The news:  Symantec reports that it’s observed a hacking team, called Orangeworm, compromise the systems of pharmaceutical firms, medical-device manufacturers, health-care providers, and even IT companies working with medical organizations. Victims don’t appear to have been chosen at random but “carefully and deliberately.”

What they’re doing: The point to these hacks doesn’t appear to be theft of patient data like insurance records. Instead, the hackers seem to be looking for intellectual property—such as details of drug manufacturing, or technical details about expensive medical imaging systems.

Who’s doing it? That remains unclear. Symantec says it doesn’t appear to be the work of a nation-state, but rather “an individual or a small group of individuals.” But so far there are no clues within the attacks to reveal who is in the group, or where it’s based.

Why it matters: It’s unusual that a small band of hackers would go after intellectual property in this way, rather than personal details that can be easily sold for cash. That raises questions about who is paying them to gather the information. But the group is clearly doing its job well: it’s attacked over 100 organizations since 2015.

Deep Dive

Biotechnology

Sam Altman invested $180 million into a company trying to delay death

Can anti-aging breakthroughs add 10 healthy years to the human life span? The CEO of OpenAI is paying to find out.

Forget designer babies. Here’s how CRISPR is really changing lives

The gene-editing tool is being tested in people, and the first treatment could be approved this year.

Neuroscientists listened in on people’s brains for a week. They found order and chaos.

The study shows that our brains exist between chaos and stability—a finding that could be used to help tweak them either way.

More than 200 people have been treated with experimental CRISPR therapies

But at a global genome-editing summit, exciting trial results were tempered by safety and ethical concerns.

Stay connected

Illustration by Rose Wong

Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review

Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.

Thank you for submitting your email!

Explore more newsletters

It looks like something went wrong.

We’re having trouble saving your preferences. Try refreshing this page and updating them one more time. If you continue to get this message, reach out to us at customer-service@technologyreview.com with a list of newsletters you’d like to receive.