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Interpol warns of organized crime threat to COVID-19 vaccines

Interpol’s evaluation of the COVID-19 consequences in the sphere of cybercrimes demonstrated a noticeable shift in the perpetrators’ interests from individuals and small business to large corporations, governments and critically important infrastructure

PARIS, December 2. /TASS/. The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) has urged the member states to coordinate their efforts in light of a possible activation of organized criminal groups in connection to the emergence of vaccines against the coronavirus, the organization’s press release published on Wednesday said.

"The need for coordination between law enforcement and health regulatory bodies will also play a vital role to ensure the safety of individuals and wellbeing of communities are protected," the statement noted. It is pointed out that it will be essential to ensure the safety of supply chains and detect illegal websites selling fake products as a number of vaccines against the coronavirus come closer to approval and market distribution.

"As governments are preparing to roll out vaccines, criminal organizations are planning to infiltrate or disrupt supply chains," Interpol Secretary General Jurgen Stock emphasized. According to him, organized criminal groups may use fake websites and sell unlicensed pharmaceuticals as well as falsified testing kits. Thus, as he noted, "it is essential that law enforcement is as prepared as possible for what will be an onslaught of all types of criminal activity linked to the COVID-19 vaccine."

In August, Interpol warned of a new wave of cybercrimes after the first vaccines against the coronavirus appeared. The organization considers possible another surge of cyber threats in relation to medical products, especially phishing and spamming malware. Interpol’s evaluation of the COVID-19 consequences in the sphere of cybercrimes demonstrated a noticeable shift in the perpetrators’ interests from individuals and small business to large corporations, governments and critically important infrastructure.

According to the World Health Organization, currently about 170 vaccines against the coronavirus are being developed worldwide. On August 11, Russia became the first worldwide to register the vaccine against the coronavirus which was named Sputnik V.