Chinese Government Hackers Stole COVID Research from U.S. Scientists

A Chinese intelligence officer extradited from Italy was charged with leading a coordinated operation to break into U.S. university researchers studying viruses and immunity in early 2020. Court records show this was deliberate targeting, not random theft. China treated pandemic research as a strategic prize worth stealing directly. The same hacking group compromised thousands of organizations through software vulnerabilities, but the focus on biomedical research reveals how governments now treat cutting-edge science as a national security target.