Federal Board of Investigations’ senior cybersecurity official has said that foreign government hackers have broken into companies conducting research into treatments for coronavirus.

Media reports said FBI Deputy Assistant Director Tonya Ugoretz told;

“We certainly have seen reconnaissance activity, and some intrusions, into some of those institutions, especially those that have publicly identified themselves as working on COVID-related research,”

The official said it made sense for institutions working on promising treatments or a potential vaccine to tout their work publicly.

However, she said,

“The sad flipside is that it kind of makes them a mark for other nation-states that interested in gleaning details about what exactly they’re doing and may even stealing proprietary information that those institutions have.”

The official said that state-backed hackers had often targeted biopharmaceutical industry but said “it’s certainly heightened during this crisis.”

She did not name specific countries or identify targeted organizations.

“Medical research organizations and those who work for them should be vigilant against threat actors seeking to steal intellectual property or other sensitive data related to America’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Bill Evanina, Director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center.

“Now is the time to protect the critical research you’re conducting.”