Hostile states trying to steal coronavirus research, says UK agency

“The pandemic will lead to a general increase in hostile state cyber-activity,” he said. “It is a new opportunity for intelligence gathering and disruption. We’ve seen this with disinformation campaigns, cyber-espionage; there’s a risk of these all exacerbating political tension and it’s no surprise this is happening in an area such as the development of a vaccine.” He added: “As we’ve seen with cyber-attacks, whether it’s a hostile nation state or an organised criminal, there’s no real boundaries to the types of data they try to steal, so why would this be any different if the development of a vaccine is a very competitive area? We’re seeing those geopolitical tensions played out in this space.”