China-backed hackers ‘tried stealing data from Covid-19 vaccine developer Moderna’
HACKERS linked to the Chinese government targeted a coronavirus vaccine research developer based in the US to try and steal data, according to officials.
On Friday, China rejected accusations that the hackers who targeted Moderna Inc, a -based biotech firm, had any links to Beijing.
The July 7 indictment alleges that that two Chinese hackers, identified as Li Xiaoyu and Dong Jiazhi, conducted a decade-long hacking spree that most recently included the targeting of medical research groups.
The surveillance included three unnamed US-based targets, which are involved in medical research to combat the pandemic.
The outlet reported that the research developer was made aware of the suspected “information reconnaissance activities” by the hacking group mentioned in last week’s indictment.
Reconnaissance activities can include a range of actions from probing public website for vulnerabilities to scouting out important accounts after entering a network, cyber security experts say.
“Moderna remains highly vigilant to potential cybersecurity threats, maintain an internal team, external support service and good working relationships with outside authorities to continuously access threats and protect our valuable information,” a company spokesman said.
Moderna’s vaccine candidate is one of the earliest and biggest bets by the Trump administration to fight the pandemic.
The federal government is supporting development of the company’s vaccine with nearly half a billion dollars and helping Moderna launch a clinical trial of up to 30,000 people beginning this month.
China is also racing to develop a vaccine, joining together its state, military and private sectors to combat a disease that has killed more than 660,000 people worldwide.