FBI Director Christopher Wray on Thursday said Chinese hackers are continuing to target U.S. companies involved in COVID-19 research and described China as the nation’s “greatest counterintelligence threat.”
“We are seeing very aggressive activity by the Chinese, and in some cases by others, to target our COVID-related research, whether it’s vaccines, treatments, testing technology, etc.,” Wray testified to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee during a hearing on threats to the U.S.
“Sometimes, without being too descriptive in an open setting, we can almost track a news report from some company or research institution that is announcing or revealing some progress ... and then almost within days we will see cyber targeting that ties back to Chinese actors focusing on those institutions,” Wray said.
When questioned by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) about the types of information the Chinese actors were targeting, Wray said that the efforts were aimed at helping China get ahead of the U.S. in coronavirus research and drug development, similar to the country's efforts in a number of sectors.
“Rather than innovate themselves, they are trying to essentially jump to the front of the line by stealing information from others,” Wray testified.
The FBI director’s comments come months after the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency warned that Chinese government-backed hackers were targeting U.S. groups involved in research and development of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments.
Russia and Iran have also been seen targeting companies involved in COVID-19 research. ...
