Targeting seven prominent companies directly involved in researching

 One might have hoped that a pandemic that cut short millions of lives might at least have received a pass from the world’s cyberattacks. But that was not the case. After a brief lull in March, cyberattackers took aim at hospitals and public health authorities, from local governments to the World Health Organization (WHO). As humanity raced to develop vaccines, Microsoft security teams detected three nation-state actors targeting seven prominent companies directly involved in researching vaccines and treatments for Covid-19. A crisis always seems to bring out the best and worst in people, so perhaps we should not be surprised that this global crisis was no exception.

Put together, however, these three trends point to a how hard is computer science landscape that is even more daunting than when the year began. The most determined nation-state attackers are becoming more sophisticated. Risks are both growing and spreading to other governments through new private sector companies that aid and abet nation state attackers. And nothing, not even a pandemic, is off limits to these attackers.

We live in a more dangerous world, and it requires a stronger and more coordinated response.