UK launches cyber-operation against Russian disinformation on COVID-19 vaccine, report says
The United Kingdom’s equivalent of the National Security Agency is actively trying to disrupt Russian attempts to cast doubt about attempts to develop a reliable coronavirus vaccine, the Times of London reported early Monday. The U.K.’s Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) is using digital tools originally developed to tackle online propaganda and recruitment material from the Islamic State, sources told the newspaper. GCHQ declined to confirm or deny the existence of the cyber-operation, the Times said. “GCHQ has been told to take out antivaxers online and on social media,” a government source told The Times. “There are ways they have used to monitor and disrupt terrorist propaganda.” The sources who spoke to the Times noted the GCHQ operation only has the authority to disrupt information “from state adversaries,” and not information posted online by ordinary people. It’s unclear whether the U.S. government is mounting similar campaigns against foreign disinformation related to […]
The post UK launches cyber-operation against Russian disinformation on COVID-19 vaccine, report says appeared first on CyberScoop.