US says Chinese hacking COVID-19 vaccine research: Reports
12 May, 2020
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation and cybersecurity authorities believe Chinese hackers are trying to steal research on developing a vaccine against coronavirus, two newspapers reported Monday (May 11).
The FBI and Department of Homeland Security are preparing to release a warning about the Chinese hacking as governments and private firms race to develop a vaccine for COVID-19, the Wall Street Journal and NY Times reported.
The hackers are also targeting information and intellectual property on treatments and testing for COVID-19.
US officials alleged that the hackers are from the Chinese government, the reports say.
The state warning could come within days.
In Beijing, Foreign Affairs ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian rejected the allegation, saying China firmly opposes all cyber attacks.
"We are leading the world in COVID-19 treatment and vaccine research. It really is immoral to focus on China with rumours and slanders in the absence of any evidence," Zhao said.
Asked about the reports, President Donald Trump did not confirm them, but said: "What else is new with China? What else is new? Tell me. I'm not happy with China."
"We're watching it very closely," he added.
A US warning would increase a number of alerts and reports accusing government-backed hackers in Iran, North Korea, Russia and China of malicious activity linked to the pandemic, from pumping out false news to targeting staff and scientists.
The New York Times said it could be a prelude to officially-sanctioned counterattacks by US agencies involved with cyber warfare, like the Pentagon's Cyber Command and the National Security Agency.
The other day in a joint message, Britain and america warned of a growth in cyber attacks against health professionals mixed up in coronavirus response by organised criminals "often associated with other state actors".
Britain's National Cyber Security Centre and the united states Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said that they had detected large-scale "password spraying" tactics - hackers trying to gain access to accounts through commonly used passwords - targeted at healthcare bodies and medical research organisations.
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