North Korea-linked hackers attempted to hack into systems of British biopharmaceuticals company AstraZeneca, which is conducting clinical trials of a coronavirus vaccine, Reuters reported.

According to the news agency, the attackers had tried to lure stuff at AstraZeneca with fake jobs offers posing as recruiters on networking site LinkedIn and WhatsApp. They then sent malicious documents purporting to be job descriptions in order to gain access to a victim’s computer.

Sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters that the hackers targeted a “broad set of people,” including those engaged in COVID-19 research. However, it appears that the hacking attempts had not been successful.

The tools and techniques used in this campaign suggest that the attacks were part of an ongoing hacking campaign being conducted by North Korean hackers that previously targeted defence companies and media organizations but switched to COVID-related targets in recent weeks.

Earlier this month, Microsoft had issued a warning about targeted campaigns launched by three state-sponsored hacker groups (Fancy Bear, Lazarus and Cerium) aimed at leading pharmaceutical companies and researchers involved in the development of vaccines and treatments for Covid-19. The list of targets include entities in Canada, France, India, South Korea and the United States.