A recent coronavirus-related credentials leak included information associated with The Wuhan Institute of Virology, the lab whose work has sparked theories over the COVID-19 virus’s origins.
The leaked data from the level-four biosafety lab – which a report in the South China Morning Post said, citing findings from SITE Intelligence Group, included screen shots of attempted email logins using the pilfered credentials – appeared on Telegram, Twitter and other message boards.
The lab’s work – specifically its study of bat-borne coronaviruses – and its location in what is considered ground zero for the pandemic has fueled speculation about where the virus came from, including a conspiracy theory that plots COVID-19 as an engineered bioweapon that escaped the lab’s confines.