Coronavirus: Russian spies target Covid-19 vaccine research

[Mary Wilson]

By Chris Fox & Leo KelionTechnology reporters, BBC News
2 hours ago

Russian spies are targeting organisations trying to develop a coronavirus vaccine in the UK, US and Canada, security services have warned.

The UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said the hackers "almost certainly" operated as "part of Russian intelligence services".

It did not specify which organisations had been targeted, or whether any information had been stolen.

But it said vaccine research had not been hindered by the hackers.

Russia has denied responsibility.

The warning was published by a international group of security services:

• the UK's NCSC
• the Canadian Communication Security Establishment (CSE)
• the United States Department for Homeland Security (DHS) Cyber-security Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)
• the US National Security Agency (NSA)

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-53429506

 

[Mary Wilson]

Russia Accused of Stealing Western Coronavirus Research

By Jamie Dettmer
Updated July 16, 2020 12:14 PM

... Britain’s National Cybersecurity Center, part of the country’s eavesdropping agency, GCHQ, issued the statement, which was coordinated with counterparts in the U.S. and Canada. Officials identified the Russian hacking group APT29, also nicknamed Cozy Bear, as being behind the hacks.

“APT29 has a long history of targeting governmental, diplomatic, think tank, health care and energy organizations for intelligence gain, so we encourage everyone to take this threat seriously and apply the mitigations issued in the advisory,” Anne Neuberger, cybersecurity director at the U.S.’s National Security Agency, said in a statement.

https://www.voanews.com/covid-19-pandemic/russia-accused-stealing-western-coronavirus-research