US claims China attempting to steal its COVID-19 research

US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, released a statement Thursday condemning China’s alleged attempts to hack into the US cyberspace, targeting Intellectual Property (IP) and data relating to COVID-19 research.

In his statement, Pompeo called the PRC’s (People’s Republic of China) action “an extension of its counterproductive attempts through out the Covid-19 pandemic”.

“While the United States and our allies and partners are coordinating a collective, transparent response to save lives, the PRC continues to silence scientists, journalists, and citizens, and to spread disinformation, which has exacerbated the dangers of this health crisis,” he noted

Pompeo’s response is coming a day after the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Department of Homeland Security and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued an announcement raising awareness to threats by “PRC-affiliated cyber actors” trying to break into their cyber space to obtain valuable “information related to vaccines, treatments, and testing from networks and personnel affiliated with COVID-19-related research.”

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Meanwhile, the Chinese embassy in Washington has condemned the accusation as “lies.”

The allegation further strains the relationship between the duo; the United States and Beijing, as the latter has weathered series of criticisms for lacking transparency and refusing to share information relating to the virus at the wake of the pandemic in Wuhan.

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