China-linked hackers are breaking into American organizations carrying out research into COVID-19, U.S. officials said, warning both scientists and public health officials to be on the lookout for cyber theft.
In a joint statement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security said the FBI was investigating digital break-ins at U.S. organizations by China-linked โcyber actorsโ that it had monitored โattempting 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.โ
The statement offered no further details on the identities of the targets or the hackers. The Chinese Embassy in Washington condemned the allegations as โlies.โ
โThe FBI issued a warning based on presumption of guilt and without any evidence,โ the embassy said in a written statement, adding the U.S. accusation โundercuts the ongoing international cooperation against the pandemic.โ
Coronavirus-related research and data have emerged as a key intelligence priority for hackers of all stripes and Western intelligence organizations have repeatedly sounded the alarm over the targeting of public health and pharmaceutical organizations.
In a separate statement issued earlier on Wednesday, the head of New Zealandโs signals intelligence agency said it condemned any attempt to target COVID response-related infrastructure.
โWe call upon all cyber actors to refrain from activity that may jeopardise national or international responses to the COVID-19 pandemic,โ said Andrew Hampton, the director-general of New Zealandโs Government Communications Security Bureau.
Last week Reuters reported that Iran-linked cyberspies had targeted staff at U.S. drugmaker Gilead Sciences Inc., whose antiviral drug remdesivir is the only treatment so far proven to help COVID-19 patients.
In March and April, Reuters reported on advanced hackersโ attempts to break into the World Health Organization as the pandemic spread across the globe.
REUTERS
