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Introduction – July 16, 2020

The U.S., Canada and Britain all claim that Russia launched “cyber attacks” in an effort to steal research data into the development of a Covid-19 vaccine. Did Russia really launch this “despicable” attack, as the UK prime minister’s office maintains?
Or has the Covid-19 “pandemic” provided another opportunity for an exchange of fire in the ongoing war of words between Russia and the West?
On balance I suspect the latter. Renewed, tougher U.S. sanctions on Russia coupled with extended EU restrictions aren’t helping matters.
Far from improving with the fall of the Soviet Union, relations with the West have only gone from bad to worse. Ukraine, Crimea, the death of Litvinenko and the poisoning of the Skripals have all been way markers in that steady decline.
Given recent history with Moscow, the alleged Russian cyber raids on Western research into a Covid-19 vaccine sounds like the latest instalment in an ongoing smear campaign. Tensions between Moscow and the West are being kept on a backburner ready at some point to be brought back to the boil. That’s why every now and again accusations are made of Russian interference in U.S. and UK elections.
The allegations don’t even have to be substantiated with facts. The accusations alone are enough to keep tensions simmering.
This is all being done so that the threat of conflict with Russia can be used to manipulate the masses. It also gives the global elite a final option. So that if the public wake up in sufficient numbers to the elite’s crimes’, war with Russia can be used as a means to avoid being held to account. Ed.

Russian state-sponsored hackers target Covid-19 vaccine researchers

Dan Sabbagh and Andrew Roth – The Guardian July 17, 2020

Russian state-sponsored hackers are targeting UK, US and Canadian organisations involved in developing a coronavirus vaccine, according to British security officials.

The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said drug companies and research groups were being targeted by a group known as APT29, which was “almost certainly” part of the Kremlin’s intelligence services.

British officials would not say if any of the attacks had been successful in their goal of stealing medical secrets. They stressed, however, that none of the vaccine research had been compromised as a result.

Britain is at the forefront of research efforts to produce a vaccine, with scientists at Oxford University and Imperial College London, among those leading global efforts.

It is rare for the UK to explicitly state that it believes another country is behind a coordinated and ongoing campaign of cyber-attacks, but British officials said it shared its assessment with the US and Canada.

The UK’s foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, said it was “completely unacceptable” for Russian intelligence services to target research on the Covid-19 pandemic.

He said: “While others pursue their selfish interests with reckless behaviour, the UK and its allies are getting on with the hard work of finding a vaccine and protecting global health. The UK will continue to counter those conducting such cyber attacks, and work with our allies to hold perpetrators to account.”

Officials added that they could not be certain that the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, would have known about the operation to target vaccine research efforts but that it would not be contemplated unless it was something he was thought to approve of.

Continues …