Bayer victim of a cyber-attack: German media

German chemicals giant Bayer was the victim of a cyber-attack for more than a year but there has been no evidence of data leaks so far, German media reported Thursday.

A group of hackers known as "Winnti" gained access to Bayer's network in early 2018 by using malware to spy on the company until the end of March, radio stations Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR) and Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) said.

"Signs of infection by Winnti were detected at the start of 2018 and important analysis was carried out," they said.

Bayer confirmed "a significative hacking attempt" had taken place but said no data leaks had been found.

The company said that it could not comment further on the incident while official investigations were ongoing.

The former head of Germany's BND foreign intelligence service, Gerhard Schindler, told the radio stations it was very difficult to determine the hackers' location.

According to BR and NDR, Winnti's malware has also been detected at three other, smaller companies in Germany this year, as well as industrial giant Thyssenkrupp in 2016.

© 2019 AFP