Russian hackers linked to attempt to steal Covid-19 research

Computer hackers widely-believed to be linked to Russian intelligence services have been accused of trying to steal other countries research into a Covid-19 vaccine.

On Thursday afternoon, the UK National Cyber Security Centre said that vaccine and therapeutic sectors in several countries had been targeted by the group known as APT29 or 'Cozy Bear' among other monikers.

It was reportedly unclear whether research facilities and programmes had been damaged or set back as a result.

The NCSC added that APT29 was "almost certainly" a part of Russian state intelligence, with the US and Canada having backed up those findings.

In response, British foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, said: "It is completely unacceptable that the Russian intelligence services are targeting those working to combat the coronavirus pandemic."

"While others pursue their selfish interests with reckless behaviour, the UK and its allies are getting on with the hard work of finding a vaccine and protecting global health."

A similar accusation was levied against China on Thursday by US Attorney General William Barr.

In a speech, Barr said that hackers linked to Beijing had attempted to steal intellectual property linked to coronavirus treatments from American universities and companies.

The allegations come against a backdrop of heightened tensions between the US and Russia, including intelligence reports - as yet unconfirmed - that a unit of Russia's military intelligence, known as GRU, might have offered bounties to Taliban fighters for killing US servicemen.

As well, the night before the US State Department ramped-up the pressure on the Nordstream 2 and Tursktream natural gas pipelines, lifting previous exemptions from some of the heaviest financial sanctions that can be levied against companies participating in either project.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied the charges, telling Bloomberg: "We don't know who may have hacked pharmaceutical companies and research centers. We can only say Russia has nothing to do with these attempts."