"South Korea Also Attempts to Gather Information on the US and Japan"
[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] There are claims that hacking attempts to steal information such as the spread status of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) in other countries and vaccine and treatment technology are occurring worldwide.
The New York Times (NYT) reported on the 10th (local time) that the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Homeland Security are expected to soon issue a warning that Chinese hackers are attempting to steal U.S. COVID-19 vaccine and treatment technologies.
According to the NYT, the report also included that Korean hackers tried to hack the emails of officials from the World Health Organization (WHO), the United States, and Japan to extract information.
The NYT cited private security firms claiming that about ten countries worldwide have redeployed military and intelligence agency hackers to respond to the virus. It is also known that not only hackers but also researchers and students from academia and private research institutes are included.
The NYT reported that this warning is part of a strategy to strengthen external deterrence involving the U.S. Cyber Command (USCC) and the National Security Agency (NSA), and plans to raise suspicions that state-sponsored Chinese hackers are involved.
Previously, U.S. President Donald Trump authorized retaliatory attacks by infiltrating foreign networks, including China’s, to prevent hacking in 2018. The U.S. identified Russian intelligence agencies’ intent to interfere in the 2018 midterm elections and even planted malware in the Russian power grid.
However, it has not been specifically disclosed what measures the U.S. will take this time, including whether it will attack China’s Cyber Command or intelligence agencies.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed earlier this month that there is evidence COVID-19 first emerged from a virus research institute in Wuhan, China, raising the possibility that U.S.-China tensions could escalate if this warning is issued.
Christopher Krebs, Director of the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, said, “There is sufficient evidence of what China has done on the internet,” and “It is not surprising at all that China is accessing key institutions of countries responding to the COVID-19 crisis.”
The U.S. and the U.K. stated in a joint announcement last week that “health authorities, pharmaceutical companies, academia, medical research institutes, and local governments are being targeted.” The NYT explained that although specific countries and target institutions were not named, the content suggests Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea. In particular, according to security experts, Iran reportedly attempted to hack Gilead Sciences, the manufacturer of remdesivir, which has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a COVID-19 treatment.
Recently, Vietnamese hackers, who had not been prominent in cyber warfare until now, are also reported to have attempted hacking against Chinese government officials.
Additionally, the newspaper cited multiple private security firms claiming that Korean hackers tried to hack email accounts of officials from North Korea as well as the WHO, Japan, and the U.S. to understand virus prevention and treatment situations.
The NYT conveyed that this means even allied countries distrust the COVID-19 confirmed case and death statistics announced by other governments.
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