China

Two Chinese Spies Charged for Hacking Sensitive COVID-19 Research

Published

3 years ago

July 21, 2020

Two Chinese nationals have been charged by the U.S. Department of Justice for a decade-long spying and intelligence-stealing operation. The indictment claims Li Xiaoyu and Dong Jiazhi stole data from large tech companies in different countries, including the U.S. for years, and recently attempted to steal information on coronavirus vaccine developments from U.S. companies.

WATCH: The Justice Dept. accused two Chinese hackers of stealing trade secrets and targeting firms developing a COVID-19 vaccine.

"We're not just indicting them for their criminal activity," Asst. AG John Demers told @nickschifrin, but also their activity "on behalf of" China. pic.twitter.com/KGoD1BfKMw
— PBS NewsHour (@NewsHour) July 21, 2020

Firms in Maryland, Massachusetts, and California working on vaccines were targeted by the Chinese spies, as reported by Tech Crunch.

The pair hacked a Department of Energy network in Washington state, leading to their discovery by U.S. officials. Using different holes in software and password-stealing viruses, they dove deep into company and government databases, collecting secrets and data worth millions of dollars, according to the indictment.

Important U.S. military information was accessed as well.

“Li and Dong stole information regarding military satellite programs; military wireless networks and communications systems; high powered microwave and laser systems; a counter-chemical weapons system; and…helicopter integration systems,” reads the indictment.

U.S. Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers said to Tech Crunch “that the indictments were ‘concrete examples’ of how China used hackers to ‘rob, replicate and replace’ non-Chinese companies in the global marketplace.”

The pair is reportedly in mainland China currently, so the indictments may lead to little action, according to reports.

The disturbing news comes as the topic of China heats up on the campaign trail. Vice President Mike Pence recently said “Biden Pretends To Be Tough On China.”

Related Topics:Attorney General china covid-19 hacking

China

Biden to lift sanctions on China in exchange for third promise to combat fentanyl

Published

2 weeks ago

November 15, 2023

Sara Carter Staff

Reportedly President Joe Biden is making deals with Chinese President Xi Jinping to help improve anti-drug trafficking measures. China is one of the top fentanyl producers and distributors, culminating in a pandemic of fentanyl overdoses and deaths in the United States.

The Biden administration will be lifting sanctions on a Chinese government ministry, in exchange for bolstering anti-drug trafficking measures, Bloomberg reported. “We’re hoping to see some progress on that issue this coming week,” National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Monday, according to the New York Post. “That could then open the door to further cooperation on other issues where we aren’t just managing things, but we’re actually delivering tangible results.”

The Daily Caller News Foundation noted that should a deal materialize, it will be at least the third time that China has promised to get tough on fentanyl. In 2016, China agreed to increase counter-narcotics operations, and Xi again agreed to launch a crackdown in 2018. Nonetheless, China and Mexico are “the primary source countries for fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances trafficked directly into the United States,” according to a 2020 DEA intelligence report.

“China remains the primary source of fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances trafficked through international mail and express consignment operations environment, as well as the main source for all fentanyl-related substances trafficked into the United States.”

President Joe Biden and Xi are meeting for the first time in over a year during this week’s Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco. Sources familiar with the situation told Bloomberg that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) will crack down on Chinese companies manufacturing chemical precursors for fentanyl in exchange for the U.S. lifting sanctions on the Ministry of Public Security’s Institute of Forensic Science, which the Commerce Department added to the Entity List in 2020 for “engaging in human rights violations and abuses” in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.