Tag Archives: Chinese hackers

Chinese-backed hackers targeted COVID-19 vaccine firm Moderna

By Christopher Bing and Marisa Taylor

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Chinese government-linked hackers targeted biotech company Moderna Inc <MRNA.O>, a leading U.S.-based coronavirus vaccine research developer, earlier this year in a bid to steal valuable data, according to a U.S. security official tracking Chinese hacking activity.

Last week, the U.S. Justice Department made public an indictment of two Chinese nationals accused of spying on the United States, including three unnamed U.S.-based targets involved in medical research to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. The indictment states the Chinese hackers “conducted reconnaissance” against the computer network of a Massachusetts biotech firm known to be working on a coronavirus vaccine in January.

Moderna, which is based in Massachusetts and announced its COVID-19 vaccine candidate in January, confirmed to Reuters that the company had been in contact with the FBI and was made aware of the suspected “information reconnaissance activities” by the hacking group mentioned in last week’s indictment.

Reconnaissance activities can include a wide range of actions, including probing public websites for vulnerabilities to scouting out important accounts after entering a network, cybersecurity experts say.

“Moderna remains highly vigilant to potential cybersecurity threats, maintaining an internal team, external support services and good working relationships with outside authorities to continuously assess threats and protect our valuable information,” spokesman Ray Jordan said, declining to provide further detail.

The U.S. security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, did not provide further details. The FBI and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declined to disclose the identities of companies targeted by Chinese hackers.

Moderna’s vaccine candidate is one of the earliest and biggest bets by the Trump administration to fight the pandemic. The federal government is supporting development of the company’s vaccine with nearly half a billion dollars and helping Moderna launch a clinical trial of up to 30,000 people beginning this month.

China is also racing to develop a vaccine, bringing together its state, military and private sectors to combat a disease that has killed over 660,000 people worldwide.

A July 7 indictment released last week alleges that the two Chinese hackers, Li Xiaoyu and Dong Jiazhi, conducted a decade-long hacking spree that most recently included the targeting of COVID-19 medical research groups.

Prosecutors said Li and Dong acted as contractors for China’s Ministry of State Security, a state intelligence agency. Messages left with several accounts registered under Li’s digital alias, oro0lxy, were not returned. Contact details for Dong were not available.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington referred Reuters to recent Chinese Foreign Ministry comments that said: “China has long been a major victim of cyber thefts and attacks” and its officials “firmly oppose and fight” such activities. The Chinese government has consistently denied any role in hacking incidents across the globe. The embassy spokesperson did not address specific questions sent via email.

The two other unnamed medical research companies mentioned in the Justice Department indictment are described as biotech companies based in California and Maryland. Prosecutors said the hackers “searched for vulnerabilities” and “conducted reconnaissance” against them.

The court filing describes the California firm as working on antiviral drug research and suggested the Maryland company had publicly announced efforts to develop a vaccine in January. Two companies that could match those descriptions: Gilead Sciences Inc <GILD.O> and Novavax Inc <NVAX.O>.

Gilead spokesperson Chris Ridley said the firm does not comment on cybersecurity matters. Novavax would not comment on specific cyber security activities but said: “Our cyber security team has been alerted to the alleged foreign threats identified in the news.”

A security consultant familiar with multiple hacking investigations involving premier biotech firms over the last year said Chinese hacking groups believed to be broadly associated with China’s Ministry of State security are one of the primary forces targeting COVID-19 research, globally. This matches the description of the indicted hackers, as MSS contractors.

(Reporting by Christopher Bing and Marisa Taylor; Editing by Chris Sanders and Lisa Shumaker)

EU investigates hacked diplomatic communications

A European Union flag is seen outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium November 14, 2018. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir/File Photo

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union is investigating a cyber hack of its diplomatic communications, allegedly by Chinese hackers, that revealed EU concern about U.S. Donald Trump, Russia and Iran, the bloc said on Wednesday.

“The Council Secretariat is aware of allegations regarding a potential leak of sensitive information and is actively investigating the issue,” the body that represents EU governments in Brussels said in a statement.

The Secretariat declined to comment further but said it “takes the security of its facilities, including its IT systems, extremely seriously”, referring to concerns about vulnerabilities in its data systems across 28 EU states.

The New York Times reported late on Tuesday that hackers had broken into the EU’s diplomatic communications for years, downloading cables that showed worries about the Trump administration, struggles to deal with Russia and China, and the threat of Iran reviving its nuclear programme.

More than 1,100 cables were supplied to the Times by security firm Area 1 after it discovered the breach, the newspaper said, adding that Area 1 investigators believed the hackers worked for China’s People’s Liberation Army.

The cables include memorandums of conversations with leaders in Saudi Arabia, Israel and other countries that were shared across the European Union, according to the report.

One cable, the Times said, showed European diplomats describing a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Finland as “successful (at least for Putin)”.

Another, written after a July 16 meeting, relayed a detailed report and analysis of talks between European officials and Chinese President Xi Jinping, who was quoted comparing Trump’s “bullying” of Beijing to a “no-rules freestyle boxing match”.

A third, from March 7, shows Caroline Vicini, the deputy head of the EU mission in Washington, recommending that the trade bloc’s diplomats describe the United States as “our most important partner”, even as it challenged Trump “in areas where we disagreed with the U.S. (e.g., on climate, trade, Iran nuclear deal)”.

The hackers also infiltrated the networks of the United Nations, the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), and ministries of foreign affairs and finance worldwide, the Times report added.

(Reporting by Rama Venkat in Bengaluru and Robin Emmott in Brussels; editing by Andrew Roche)