China Tries To Steal COVID-19 Vaccine Research Data, US Says Hackers Linked To Chinese Government

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) says that the Chinese hackers are trying to steal the research data for COVID-19 development efforts being made by scientists and companies across the globe.

The FBI’s claim is based on its investigations alongside the Department of Homeland Security (DHI), who believes that the hackers are working in close collaboration with the Chinese government to get a hold of the progress being made on coronavirus vaccine development and trials.

The reports further say that the hackers are trying to steal information pertaining to “intellectual property on treatments and testing for COVID-19.”

The American cybersecurity experts believe that the data is at a threat from China’s most skilled hackers and spies. The report has a come shortly after Israeli officials accused Iran of crippling water supplies in last April.

Each country, whether it is an ally or at the receiving end of the wrath, has been more interested in the other nations’ virus responses. This has led them to deploy their best intelligence hackers and military to fetch whatever information they can about efforts being made to combat coronavirus pandemic.

According to private security firms, even U.S. allies such as South Korea and Vietnam, which does not have that cyber ability, have deployed state-run hackers to focus on virus-related information.

The FBI and DHI are expected to release a public warning concerning the same matter. The note will explicitly state that China is trying to steal “valuable intellectual property and public health data through illicit means related to vaccines, treatments and testing.”

The U.S. can dig deep into the Chinese and other agencies working in unison to steal COVID-19 vaccine data from prestigious institutions through hacking and counterattack them at the same pace, as per the legal authority issues by President Donald Trump nearly two years ago. However, it is still not clear how that would work out.

Last week, Britain's National Cyber Security Centre and the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency jointly said that the use of a large-scale "password spraying" tactic has been identified to compromise healthcare and medical organizations by identifying commonly used passwords for accounts.