Western Governments Accuse Russia of Hacking Virus Vaccine Trials

WASHINGTON, KOMPAS.com — The western governments of the UK, US, and Canada have laid blame on Russia over claims the Kremlin is hacking Covid-19 vaccine trials.

The three western governments believe that Russian intelligence is attempting to steal key private information about a Covid-19 vaccine.

The UK, US, Canada have issued a public warning of potential Russian meddling to scientists and medical companies.

The suspect is a common enemy of the three western governments.

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The US, UK, and Canadian governments shared that the hacking group behind the latest hacking virus vaccine trials is APT29 or also known as Cozy Bear.

APT29 is the same group that was embroiled in the hacking of the US Democratic Party’s email accounts during the 2016 US presidential election.

Now, the group is back and has set its eyes on academic and pharmaceutical research institutions involved in Covid-19 vaccine development.

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It is yet determined whether any crucial information was stolen.

However, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said, “It is completely unacceptable that the Russian Intelligence Services are targeting those working to combat the coronavirus pandemic.”

He accused Moscow of pursuing “selfish interests with reckless behavior.”

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Sticking to more general language, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said, “We worked very closely with our allies to ensure that we would take measures to keep that information safe and we continue to do so."

The allegation that hackers linked to a foreign government are attempting to siphon secret research during the pandemic is not entirely new.