But hours later, the UK's National Cyber Security Centre said a hacking group called APT29 had targeted British labs conducting vaccine research to "steal valuable intellectual property." The agency said it was "almost certain (95 percent +) that APT29 are part of the Russian Intelligence Services" and its targeting of researchers was "highly likely (80-90 percent)" to "collect information on COVID-19 vaccine research." The US, UK and Canada all accused Russia in a joint security advisory. Moscow denied any involvement, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying: "Russia has nothing to do with these attempts." The dispute came as ever-growing tolls in Brazil and the US, the world's two worst-hit countries, underscored the need for a vaccine.

Source: The North Africa Journal July 18, 2020 02:59 UTC