WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - A senior FBI cybersecurity official said on Thursday (April 16) that foreign government hackers have broken into institutions conducting research into treatments for Covid-19, the sometimes fatal respiratory illness caused by the new coronavirus.

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Deputy Assistant Director Tonya Ugoretz told participants in an online panel discussion hosted by the Aspen Institute that the bureau had seen state-backed hackers poking around the US healthcare sector as well.

"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," she said.

Ms Ugoretz said it made sense for organisations 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 are interested in gleaning details about what exactly they're doing and maybe even stealing proprietary information that those institutions have."

Ms Ugoretz said that state-backed hackers had often targeted the biopharmaceutical industry but said "it's certainly heightened during this crisis."

She did not name specific countries or identify any targeted companies or institutions.

"Medical research organisations 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 Mr Bill Evanina, Director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Centre.

"Now is the time to protect the critical research you're conducting."

The FBI declined to comment. A spokeswoman for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence had no immediate comment.

The potential for hackers to target research and healthcare institutions related to coronavirus treatments and vaccines has been on US cybersecurity officials' radar since the start of the outbreak, which began in China late last year.

Last month, Reuters identified two independent attempts by different state-backed hacking groups to penetrate the World Health Organisation, which is helping to organise the global response to the epidemic.