Oxford University says research not affected after media reports of COVID lab hack

 

FILE PHOTO: A sightseeing bus passes Oxford University building, amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Oxford, Britain, October 6, 2020. REUTERS/Matthew Childs/File Photo

 

(Reuters) - Oxford University said on Thursday it was investigating a cyber attack but that research was unaffected, following media reports that one of its biology laboratories researching COVID-19 had been hacked.

 

The breach took place in mid-February and occurred at the Division of Structural Biology, known as Strubi, which has been carrying out research into COVID-19, according to Forbes and The Telegraph.

 

Strubi is distinct from the Jenner Institute, which develops the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine in partnership with AstraZeneca.

Oxford University confirmed there had been a hack in an emailed statement to Reuters and said it was investigating.

 

"We have identified and contained the problem and are now investigating further. There has been no impact on any clinical research, as this is not conducted in the affected area," an Oxford spokesman said, adding that the university was working with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) on the incident.

 

It did not name the facility affected.

 

The Telegraph newspaper quoted security sources as saying it was unclear who was behind the attack and that they could not rule out a hostile foreign state.

 

NCSC, the cyber security arm of spy agency GCHQ, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

 

Digital espionage targeting health bodies, vaccine scientists and drugmakers has surged during the COVID-19 pandemic as state-backed hacking groups scramble to secure the latest research and information about the outbreak.

 

In December, U.S. drugmaker Pfizer Inc and its German partner BioNTech SE disclosed that documents related to

development of their COVID-19 vaccine had been "unlawfully accessed" in a cyberattack on Europe's medicines regulator.

 

(Reporting by Bhargav Acharya and Derek Francis in Bengaluru; Editing by Catherine Evans and Rosalba O'Brien)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2021-02-26

 

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That will be the Chinese or Russians or French or maybe…….. ok I give up!

7 hours ago, canopus1969 said:

That will be the Chinese or Russians or French or maybe…….. ok I give up!

Can't be the French, Macron said the AstraZeneca vaccine is almost ineffective!

 

Emmanuel Macron claims AstraZeneca vaccine is 'almost ineffective' on over-65s | Daily Mail Online

43 minutes ago, animalmagic said:

Can't be the French, Macron said the AstraZeneca vaccine is almost ineffective!

 

Emmanuel Macron claims AstraZeneca vaccine is 'almost ineffective' on over-65s | Daily Mail Online

Why not?  Macron looking for proof to support his allegations.

12 minutes ago, Kopitiam said:

Why not?  Macron looking for proof to support his allegations.

Since when have politicians thought proof necessary to support their claims?

If I were a country that had a lame half-effective vaccine and wanted to influence other countries by bribing them with a protection against a virus I exported to them, I'd hack the lab of a successful competitor. 

 

Just sayin'.