Last Thursday, the global drug manufacturer Dr. Reddy’s reported a data breach. Dr Reddy’s, which is also India’s leading COVID-19 vaccine manufacturer has isolated their data after the data breach incident besides taking all the necessary precautionary actions. The company has sites across the globe with research facilities located in the US, the UK, Netherlands & India. As per BBC, the sites in the US, the UK, Brazil, India & Russia were affected by this cyber-attack.
Though the company has not disclosed the complete impact or the exact nature of the attack, sources have revealed that some of their production facilities have been shut down temporarily. The report of the breach came only days after the company acquired regulatory approval for starting the human trials of a Russian Research Institute’s COVID-19 vaccine. On the 19th of October, the Drug Control General of India gave them the approval to conduct the Phase2 & Phase 3 human trials for the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine.
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The authorities at Dr Reddy’s have claimed that in the wake of the breach, they have isolated all of their data centre services in order to take necessary preventive actions. The company claims that they do not foresee any substantial impact on the operations due to the incident. Dr Reddy’s is a major manufacturer of over 200 products made for oncology, gastroenterology, pain management & cardiovascular ailments. They even supply medicines to the UK’s National Health Services.
Since the pharma industry is majorly dependent on data for the production of every drug, such a data breach can mean a lot of damage. For a global pharma leader like Dr Reddy’s, it becomes quintessential to ensure that no data has been lost or tampered with before they resume their productions as it may risk the lives of many. It will also be important to see how the company deals with the crisis & ensures that such a thing doesn’t happen again.
