United States Officials have revealed that the US government is planning to issue caution that there is an attempt at stealing research information regarding the development of the coronavirus vaccine by hackers which are connected to the Chinese government.
According to one of the officials who gave away the information, the warning will be issued by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). They also added that the warning will specify the said security threat as coming from "nontraditional actors" in the form of Chinese students and researchers who are currently based in the US.
Washington Post added that the said officials leaked the information under the condition of anonimity as the information is sensitive for national security.
Based on the official's statement, a draft of the said warning which is yet to be released says, "These actors have been observed attempting to identify and obtain valuable intellectual property and public health data."
Moreover, another official said that at the moment there has been no indication that any of the attempts have been successful. He also added that the warning is expected to be released within a week.
Meanwhile, New York Times asked Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Zhao Lijian on his views about the warning. According to Zhao, the ministry firmly opposes any kind of cyber-attack and crime conducted by hackers. He also stresses that China is currently leading the world in research related to the treatment and vaccination of COVID-19, saying that it is very immoral to throw rumors and slanders their way despite the absence of proof.
As of the moment, the DHS and FBI refused to give any comments about the said warning.
Warning may increase tension between US and China
Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the relationship between China and the Us has not been great. Now, there is high possibility that the planned alert may exacerbate the tension between the two countries.
Moreover, the alleged planned announcement coincides with the increased efforts of US President Donald Trump to draw attention towards China. In addition, it also supports the long-running speculations of the administration that China has long been after US secrets and intellectual property which includes biomedical research, in order to gain advantage in the global economic race.
In the past few weeks, both Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have released statements that suggested that SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19 may have been leaked from a laboratory in Wuhan, China. Until now, the government has not been able to produce any evidence supporting said claims.
According to John Hultquist, director of the cybersecurity firm, FireEye, there is a possibility that the collection of intelligence regarding COVID-19 has begun since January. He also noted that since the pandemic threatens the existence of governments globally, it is expected that intelligence services have been aggressively collecting information from organizations involved in responding to the pandemic including medical research.
It was also stated that the joint advisory of the FBI and DHS will encourage victims of these hackers to contact them and that they will be provided resources to protect their data.
