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The US formally accused China of backing attempts to hack the country’s coronavirus research data.
The US’ cybersecurity agency on Wednesday released a public service announcement to raise awareness about a “threat to Covid-19 related research.”
“The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) are issuing this announcement to raise awareness of the threat to Covid-19-related research,” the PSA reads.
“The FBI is investigating the targeting and compromise of US organizations conducting Covid-19-related research by PRCaffiliated cyber actors and non-traditional collectors. These actors have been observed attempting 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,” it said.
The news comes after media reports over the weekend had said that the US was likely to formally accuse China of attempting to hack its Covid-19 research data. According to a New York Times report, it was preparing to accuse Beijing of deploying skilled hackers to steal American research in a bid to quash US researchers’ efforts to develop vaccines and treatments for the coronavirus.
According to a Wall Street Journal report, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian last week had said that Beijing has refuted all claims and has opposed all forms of cyberattack .
“The potential theft of this information jeopardizes the delivery of secure, effective, and efficient treatment options,” FBI and CISA said in its PSA.
The agencies have urged all organisations conducting research in these areas to maintain thorough cybersecurity and insider threat practices to prevent “surreptitious review or theft” of Covid-19-related information.
“CISA is providing services and information to support the cybersecurity of federal and state/local/tribal/territorial entities, and private sector entities that play a critical role in Covid-19 research and response,” it said.
The agencies have also mentioned certain recommendations for organisations, including patching all systems for vulnerabilities, scanning web applications for unauthorised access or modifications and improving credential requirements for systems, including multi-factor authentication. It has also asked agencies to assume that “press attention affiliating your organisation with Covid-19 related research will lead to increased interest and cyber activity. “
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