Universities must take the lead on security

Without a proactive approach to international risks, more legislation is inevitable, says Alexis Brown

When MI5 director general Ken McCallum gave his annual risk update in 2021, the warning could not have been clearer: “We see the UK’s brilliant universities and researchers having their discoveries stolen or copied…Given half a chance, hostile actors will short-circuit years of British research or investment.”

One dramatic illustration of this came at the height of the pandemic, when the National Cyber Security Centre charged Russia’s intelligence services with trying to steal information and intellectual property relating to the UK’s Covid-19 vaccine development. By that point, unease over the security of university research—which, in areas such as vaccine development, is increasingly entwined with state power—had already prompted initiatives across the security agencies, government and universities.