BAD ACTORS

U.S. Seeks to Thwart Chinese Hackers in Race for Coronavirus Cure: NYT

The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security will reportedly accuse Chinese actors of seeking U.S. proprietary data to develop a coronavirus vaccine.

In the global race to develop a vaccine and an effective treatment for the coronavirus, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security have uncovered evidence that Chinese hacking groups are intent on stealing American research, The New York Times reports. American intelligence sources reportedly indicate that the Chinese hackers are working to obtain proprietary research into efforts to mitigate the pandemic. According to drafts of the impending warning by the nation’s top security agencies to Americans, Chinese “nontraditional actors” are seeking “valuable intellectual property and public health data through illicit means related to vaccines, treatments and testing,” the Times reports. “China’s long history of bad behavior in cyberspace is well documented, so it shouldn’t surprise anyone they are going after the critical organizations involved in the nation’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic,” Christopher Krebs, the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, told the Times.