Microsoft said that its products blocked most of the attempts, and that it was offering help in cases where the intruders were successful.
The news comes as Microsoft president Brad Smith is joining others in urging Paris Peace Forum countries to declare that international law protects the healthcare industry and to do a better job of enforcing that law.
As the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology’s Stefan Soesanto told ZDNet, however, Microsoft might not find a receptive audience. Many countries don’t have the legal resources to protect healthcare, while others aren’t interested or are launching hacks themselves. For now, vaccine researchers may have to rely on their own defenses to protect sensitive medical data against theft.