UK and US labs suffer malicious cyber hacks
By Caoimhe Toman
Date: Tuesday 05 May 2020
(Sharecast News) - Cyber attacks have been directed at various UK and US labs by state-backed entities in an attempt to steal data from universities, pharmaceutical firms and research institutes involved in the development of a coronavirus vaccine and studying the Covid-19 disease.
According to Sky News, a joint advisory warning published on Tuesday by the US and UK said that the culprits were understood to include China, Russia and Iran, although no specific countries were named.
The UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), a branch of GCHQ, and its US counterpart, the US Cyber security and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), urged workers in healthcare and medical research to change easy-to-guess passwords.
None of the attacks in the UK were believed to have succeeded, but Sky News reported that the attacks had achieved their aim elsewhere.
The significant rise in cyber attacks on research institutes and universities was thought to be part of the new priorities of certain governments in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The US and UK warned that the attacks were carried out "to collect bulk personal information, intellectual property and intelligence that aligns with national priorities".
In March, the NCSC and CISA had warned about cyber criminals trying to exploit the coronavirus outbreak for their own personal gain.
Special promo:
Trading the Forex Market? Visit FXmania.com to get advanced infomation about currencies and the Foreign Exchange
Market.
Email this article to a friend
or share it with one of these popular networks:
You are here: news
10 Lower Thames St,
London EC3R 6EN