If you thought it couldn’t get worse, now China is being accused of using hackers to steal U.S. research on coronavirus vaccines:
The Trump administration is calling out the Chinese government over alleged attempts to hack and steal information for developing a coronavirus vaccine.
The FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said Wednesday that state-sponsored Chinese hackers are targeting US researchers in cyberattacks seeking information on vaccines for COVID-19. The hackers are also looking to steal data related to testing for the coronavirus outbreak, in addition to treatments, according to the agencies.
“These actors have been observed attempting to identify and illicitly obtain valuable intellectual property (IP) and public health data related to vaccines, treatments, and testing from networks and personnel affiliated with COVID-19-related research,” the joint warning said.
The agencies said they would be releasing more technical details about the hacking attempts “in the coming days.”
Their warning recommended that researchers patch all their systems for critical vulnerabilities and require multifactor authentication for accounts. Companies at risk should also know that more press attention will mean a higher chance of hacking attempts, the warnings said.
The Chinese embassy didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Pretty despicable.
This is a big deal because it’s part of China’s attempt to repair the damage to its reputation over the coronavirus. They want to be first to get to a vaccine in order to say “see, we’re the good guys!” And you can be sure there will be plenty of anti-American nations out there who will applaud just to stick a thumb in Uncle Sam’s eye.
Via TRS
