A coronavirus antibody test is performed on blood samples. (Photo via Getty Images)
Chinese and Russian Hackers Hunt for a COVID-19 Vaccine
As countries around the world race to develop a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine, recent reporting warns that Russia, Iran, and China are employing cyber hackers in an attempt to steal research on vaccine-related breakthroughs currently underway.
Earlier this month, FBI Director Christopher Wray addressed how China is attempting to use cybertheft to gain a global edge:
"At this moment, China is working to compromise American health care organizations, pharmaceutical companies and academic institutions conducting essential COVID-19 research. ... It's not unusual for us to see right after some pharmaceutical company or research institution make some significant announcement about some promising research related to the pandemic, that we'll start seeing cyber activity tracing back to China, targeting with that institution is, sometimes almost the next day."
The latest efforts to steal vaccine research reflect an escalation in how unscrupulous governments use cybertheft for strategic, and even medical, advantages. Be sure to catch Director Wray’s timely speech and see below for more Hudson coverage of global developments.
Hudson Highlights
Read: In BESA, Lewis Libby and Douglas Fieth examine the Trump administration’s peace plan for the Middle East and the necessity of Palestinian reform before progress can be achieved.
Read: In the Wall Street Journal, Walter Russell Mead highlights the Biden campaign’s embrace of multilateralist foreign policy, from re-entering the Iran deal to boosting support for international institutions.
Read: Paul Marshall discusses in Providence Magazine the cultural, religious, and political implications of Turkey's decision to turn the Hagia Sophia into a mosque.
Read: In The Australian, John Lee examines the Chinese Communist Party’s shift towards a style of “wrecking ball” diplomacy that counters perceived insults with the threat of military and economic punishments.
Read: Ranj Alaaldin writes in Current Trends about the impact of Qassem Soleimani’s death in Iraq, and how it may upend the expansive Shiite militia network that Iran has cultivated over the past 15 years.
WATCH: Michael Shellenberger, in conversation with Walter Russell Mead, challenges traditional alarmist approaches to improving the environment and boosting the middle class with high-tech, heterodox policy suggestions.
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