Spy vs. Spy and COVID-19 Vaccine

 The following blog was summarized from the front page of the Sunday New Your Times article called, "Spy Versus Spy In Rush to Gain a Vaccine Edge, by Julian E. Barnes and Michael Venutolo-Mantovani, September 6, 2020. 

Mad Magazine Spy vs. Spy

Chinese intelligence hackers have reportedly been trying to hack into the University of North Carolina's (U.N.C.) epidemiology research lab that is currently at the forefront of vaccine research in the United States. "They were not the only spies at work." said Barnes and Venutolo-Mantovani, "Russia's premier intelligence service, the S.V.R., targeted vaccine research networks in the United States, Canada and Great Britain." 1

"Iran, too, has drastically stepped up its attempts to steal information about vaccine research, and the United States has increased its own efforts to track the espionage of its adversaries and shore up its defenses,"2 Basically, every spy service around the world is spying on each other.

Barnes and Ventutolo-Mantovani, say,"The contest is reminiscent of the space race (of the 1960's), where the Soviet Union and America relied on their spy services to catch up when the other looked likely to achieve a milestone."3

The F.B.I. recently warned the U.N.C. about hacking attempts. The Chinese hacking teams were trying to break into the school's epidemiology computer networks. China is going after university level information because it seems it is easier to hack than pharmaceutical companies more robust security.

"The Trump administration ordered China on July 22 to close its consulate in Houston in part because Chinese operatives had used it as an outpost to try to make inroads with medical experts in the city, according to the F.B.I.

Additionally, both Russia and China are sending out disinformation about the American vaccine work. "This case seems to be a throwback to the old Soviet Union, said Fiona Hill, former National Security Council expert on Russia. "Russia and the Chinese have been out there on disinformation campaigns. How better than to create confusion and weaken the U.S. further than to whip up the antivax movement? But you make sure all of your guys are vaccinated."4

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1 Sunday New Your Times article called, "Spy Versus Spy In Rush to Gain a Vaccine Edge, by Julian E. Barnes and Michael Venutolo-Mantovani, September 6, 2020, page 1.

2 Ibid.

3 Ibid.

4 Sunday New Your Times article called, "Spy Versus Spy In Rush to Gain a Vaccine Edge, by Julian E. Barnes and Michael Venutolo-Mantovani, September 6, 2020, page 5.