US accuses China of coronavirus research hacking

US officials claim that China-linked hackers are targeting organisations researching the Covid-19 pandemic.

Iran Press/America: The US The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (Cisa) on Wednesday accused China of waging a hacking campaign designed to undermine the U.S. response to the coronavirus, USANews reported. 

The US has long accused the Chinese government of cyber-espionage, something Beijing denies.

The pandemic has worsened tensions between the two countries, which have both accused each other of failing to contain the outbreak.

China has repeatedly denied US accusations of cyber-espionage.

Earlier this week, foreign affairs ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said: "We are leading the world in Covid-19 treatment and vaccine research. It is immoral to target China with rumours and slanders in the absence of any evidence."

At a press briefing on Monday, Donald Trump while accusing China, referred to China's alleged cyber-activities and said: "What else is new with China? I'm not happy with China, could have stopped it at the source, should have." 

"Now you're telling me they're hacking. What else is new? We're watching very closely," Trump added.

US officials have long accused China of hacking and intellectual property theft.

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