U.S. Accuses Two Hackers of Stealing Vaccine research From U.S. Firms for China

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U.S. Accuses Two Hackers of Stealing Secrets From U.S. Firms for China

Alleged hackers tested defenses at four American firms working on coronavirus treatment, testing, vaccine research in recent months


WSJ

The U.S. government has accused two individuals of conspiring with Chinese intelligence to steal secrets from more than a dozen companies in the defense, health care, and other industries, according to a federal indictment released on Tuesday.

The two accused hackers also probed the cyber defenses of at least four American companies working on coronavirus treatment and testing in recent months, the indictment alleged.

Li Xiaoyu and Dong Jiazhi have been allegedly stealing valuable trade secrets from a range of companies, research institutions and defense contractors for more than a decade, prosecutors said. The indictment accuses the pair of acting both for personal profit motive and to feed information to China’s Ministry of State Security. The pair are believed to be in China, and were unable to be reached for comment.

The Trump administration in May publicly accused China of targeting American universities, pharmaceutical and other health-care firms in a bid to steal intellectual property related to coronavirus treatments and vaccines, saying the intrusions may be jeopardizing progress on medical research. China denied the accusations, which at the time lacked specific detail.

The indictment unsealed Tuesday describes persistent attempts to breach entities working to understand and treat Covid-19 since January of this year—when concerns about the novel coronavirus were just beginning to rise around the world.

On Jan. 27 alone, the indictment alleged, one of the accused individuals searched for vulnerabilities at a Maryland biotech firm that said days earlier it was researching a potential Covid-19 vaccine, and conducted reconnaissance at a Massachusetts company publicly known to be researching a potential Covid-19 vaccine.

Other alleged victims cited in the indictments include defense contractors in the U.S. and elsewhere who suffered breaches compromising information about military satellite systems, military wireless networks and communications systems, microwave and laser systems, a counter-chemical weapons systems, and ship-to-helicopter integration systems.

Last week, intelligence agencies in the U.S., U.K. and Canada also jointly accused Russia of ongoing cyber espionage against organizations involved in the development of coronavirus vaccines.

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