China-linked hackers target Moderna’s vaccine research

U.S. PROMISES $2.1 BILLION FOR SANOFI, GSK COVID-19 VACCINE

Washington, July 31: Chinese government-linked hackers targeted biotech company Moderna Inc, a US-based Coronavirus vaccine research developer, this year in a bid to steal data, according to a US security official tracking Chinese hacking.

China on Friday rejected the accusation that hackers linked to it had targeted Moderna.

Last week, the US Justice Department made public an indictment of two Chinese nationals accused of spying on the United States, including three unnamed USbased targets involved in medical research to fight the Coronavirus.

The indictment said 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, said 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.

Paris, July 31: Pharma giants Sanofi and GSK are to receive up to $2.1 billion from the US government for the development of a Covid-19 vaccine, the companies said Friday, as the world continues to be ravaged by the Coronavirus epidemic.

The United States had identified a vaccine candidate under investigation by Sanofi and GSK for its “Operation Warp Speed,” which aims to speedily secure millions of doses of a safe and effective Covid-19 vaccine.

The vaccine will combine a Sanofi-developed antigen, which stimulates the production of germ-killing antibodies, with GSK's adjuvant technology, a substance that bolsters the immune response triggered by a vaccine, they said in a statement.