National Cyber Security Centre says a quarter of record recorded incidents in the past year were coronavirus-related. Cyberattacks by Russia and other hostile states present an “ongoing threat” to the UK’s work to develop a coronavirus vaccine, officials have said. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) dealt with a record of 723 incidents in the year to September, with a quarter related to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The potential success of vaccines, such as those being developed by Oxford University and Imperial College London, will be key to lowering the death toll and exiting lockdowns. Paul Chichester, the NCSC’s director of operations, said cyberattacks by hostile states were focused on vaccine research, while criminal groups were also targeting hospitals and healthcare bodies.