UK: new team to protect security-related researchers ‘from hostile activity’
The government of the United Kingdom has said that it has established a ‘dedicated new team within government’ to ‘offer researchers advice on how to protect their work from hostile activity, ensuring international collaboration is done safely and securely.’
It said, ‘The new Research Collaboration Advice Team (RCAT) within the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) will promote government advice on security-related topics, such as export controls, cyber security and protection of intellectual property. It will ensure researchers’ work is protected, and that the UK research sector remains open and secure.
‘The government is committed to supporting the UK’s brilliant scientists, researchers and businesses to make the most of the enormous benefits that come from working with partners overseas…
‘The RCAT team will help researchers make the most of their collaborations while helping them to protect themselves from those who seek to compromise the UK’s national security. Such behaviour left unchecked can leave the UK vulnerable to disruption, unfair leverage, and espionage. The threats to science and research in particular – primarily the theft, misuse or exploitation of intellectual property by hostile actors – are growing, evolving and increasingly complex.’
