Hostile states are attempting to hack into Covid-19 vaccination supply routes, the head of Britain’s top spy agency said on Monday.
Without specifying which countries, but understood to be referring to China, Russia and potentially Iran, Jeremy Fleming, the director of the Government Communications Headquarters, made it clear that foreign governments were also attempting to snoop on vaccine production.
There have been more than 200 incidents since the pandemic began of countries or criminals trying to break into coronavirus-related research, said Mr Fleming.
“We have seen serious criminals right up to states seeking to take advantage of the situation interested in the production of the vaccine and they are now very interested in the supply chains around the vaccine,” Mr Fleming told a Chatham House think-tank webinar.
Britain is one of the leading Covid research countries, home to Oxford University and Imperial College London, making it a target for cyber hackers.
“Wherever you get those advantages you also get adversaries, who are seeking to do us harm,” he said. Terrorists, criminals and hostile states were all seeking to take advantage, he added. “What we've seen during this latest pandemic is an acceleration of that, with about 60 incidents a month. In the last nine months 200 of those incidents have had some sort of coronavirus-related angle.”
He was joined at the conference on “digital competition” by Gen Sir Patrick Sanders, commander of UK Strategic Command, who stated that cyberspace was “not only the most contested domain that we operate in, but it's one where there is a state of permanent potential confrontation”.
The senior army officer, who served on operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, said this was “a very deliberate strategy” by Britain’s enemies, including hostile states. “They think of pursuing their own strategic advantage as a continuum, starting with operations and cyberspace at one end, a nuclear war at the other,” he said. Cyberspace provides them with an area to “pursue strategic advantage”, he added.
To counteract the threats, Britain’s National Cyber Force has been formed to disrupt criminals, extremists and terrorists, “imposing cost to them on their actions,” Mr Fleming said.
Singling out China, the GCHQ boss said cyber conflict with the powerful country depended very much on its behaviour. “We would clearly like to have a constructive positive relationship with China, not least one of trade, but some of the actions that China has taken make us wary. We need to insulate ourselves against some of those threats.”
He also made an indirect reference to how China appears to have remained untouched by Covid and benefited from it economically. "If anyone had any doubts about the rise of China then what we've seen over the last nine months is the extent to which China is making so much more of the world's weather nowadays, if I may put it that way," he said.
He made it clear that Britain would not tolerate offensive actions when its vital security interests were at stake. He said: “We want to have the sort of relationship where we both understand what is not acceptable but also where they are sure that the UK will take action.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Asia Cup Qualifier
Venue: Kuala Lumpur
Result: Winners play at Asia Cup in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in September
Fixtures:
Wed Aug 29: Malaysia v Hong Kong, Nepal v Oman, UAE v Singapore
Thu Aug 30: UAE v Nepal, Hong Kong v Singapore, Malaysia v Oman
Sat Sep 1: UAE v Hong Kong, Oman v Singapore, Malaysia v Nepal
Sun Sep 2: Hong Kong v Oman, Malaysia v UAE, Nepal v Singapore
Tue Sep 4: Malaysia v Singapore, UAE v Oman, Nepal v Hong Kong
Thu Sep 6: Final
Asia Cup
Venue: Dubai and Abu Dhabi
Schedule: Sep 15-28
Teams: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, plus the winner of the Qualifier
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
Company%20profile
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Citizenship-by-investment programmes
United Kingdom
The UK offers three programmes for residency. The UK Overseas Business Representative Visa lets you open an overseas branch office of your existing company in the country at no extra investment. For the UK Tier 1 Innovator Visa, you are required to invest £50,000 (Dh238,000) into a business. You can also get a UK Tier 1 Investor Visa if you invest £2 million, £5m or £10m (the higher the investment, the sooner you obtain your permanent residency).
All UK residency visas get approved in 90 to 120 days and are valid for 3 years. After 3 years, the applicant can apply for extension of another 2 years. Once they have lived in the UK for a minimum of 6 months every year, they are eligible to apply for permanent residency (called Indefinite Leave to Remain). After one year of ILR, the applicant can apply for UK passport.
The Caribbean
Depending on the country, the investment amount starts from $100,000 (Dh367,250) and can go up to $400,000 in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take between four to five months to receive a passport.
Portugal
The investment amount ranges from €350,000 to €500,000 (Dh1.5m to Dh2.16m) in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take a maximum of six months to receive a Golden Visa. Applicants can apply for permanent residency after five years and Portuguese citizenship after six years.
“Among European countries with residency programmes, Portugal has been the most popular because it offers the most cost-effective programme to eventually acquire citizenship of the European Union without ever residing in Portugal,” states Veronica Cotdemiey of Citizenship Invest.
Greece
The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Greece is €250,000, making it the cheapest real estate residency visa scheme in Europe. You can apply for residency in four months and citizenship after seven years.
Spain
The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Spain is €500,000. You can apply for permanent residency after five years and citizenship after 10 years. It is not necessary to live in Spain to retain and renew the residency visa permit.
Cyprus
Cyprus offers the quickest route to citizenship of a European country in only six months. An investment of €2m in real estate is required, making it the highest priced programme in Europe.
Malta
The Malta citizenship by investment programme is lengthy and investors are required to contribute sums as donations to the Maltese government. The applicant must either contribute at least €650,000 to the National Development & Social Fund. Spouses and children are required to contribute €25,000; unmarried children between 18 and 25 and dependent parents must contribute €50,000 each.
The second step is to make an investment in property of at least €350,000 or enter a property rental contract for at least €16,000 per annum for five years. The third step is to invest at least €150,000 in bonds or shares approved by the Maltese government to be kept for at least five years.
Candidates must commit to a minimum physical presence in Malta before citizenship is granted. While you get residency in two months, you can apply for citizenship after a year.
Egypt
A one-year residency permit can be bought if you purchase property in Egypt worth $100,000. A three-year residency is available for those who invest $200,000 in property, and five years for those who purchase property worth $400,000.
Source: Citizenship Invest and Aqua Properties
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
