The New York Times reported Sunday that the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security are preparing to tell Chinese hackers that they better not try and steal the research Americans have done to develop a vaccine for the coronavirus.
The labs of the world have been working together to develop a fast vaccine for the millions in the world suffering from the worst global pandemic in 100 years.
"The warning comes as Israeli officials accuse Iran of mounting an effort in late April to cripple water supplies as Israelis were confined to their houses, though the government has offered no evidence to back its claim," said the Times. "More than a dozen countries have redeployed military and intelligence hackers to glean whatever they can about other nations' virus responses. Even American allies like South Korea and nations that do not typically stand out for their cyberabilities, like Vietnam, have suddenly redirected their state-run hackers to focus on virus-related information, according to private security firms."
The draft of the warning says China is seeking "valuable intellectual property and public health data through illicit means related to vaccines, treatments, and testing," said the report. It specifically cites cybertheft and actions by "nontraditional actors," which is said to be a euphemism for scientists and students Trump thinks are spies and are "being activated" and told to steal data from labs.
"The decision to issue a specific accusation against China's state-run hacking teams, current and former officials said, is part of a broader deterrent strategy that also involves United States Cyber Command and the National Security Agency," said the report. "Under legal authorities that President Trump issued nearly two years ago, they have the power to bore deeply into Chinese and other networks to mount proportional counterattacks. This would be similar to their effort 18 months ago to strike at Russian intelligence groups seeking to interfere in the 2018 midterm elections and to put malware in the Russian power grid as a warning to Moscow for its attacks on American utilities."
It's another edition of the ongoing battle between the White House and China.
The same White House is spreading conspiracy theories about COVID-19. This month, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed that the virus came from a Chinese lab in the "vicinity" of Wuhan.