Beijing rejects alleged Chinese hack of Indian vaccine makers

China on Tuesday rejected an allegation by a cyber intelligence firm that a state-backed hacking group targeted the computer systems of two Indian coronavirus vaccine makers.

Cyfirma told Reuters that the APT10 hacking group, known as Stone Panda, had identified gaps and vulnerabilities in the IT infrastructure and supply chain software of Bharat Biotech and the Serum Institute of India ( SII), the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer.

“Without showing any evidence, the party concerned has made baseless speculations, distorted and concocted facts, to slander a specific party,” China’s foreign ministry told Reuters.

“This behavior is irresponsible and has ulterior motives. China strongly opposes it,” he added in a written response to questions on Cyfirma’s allegations.

Asked to respond to Beijing’s comment, Cyfirma, a company backed by investors including Goldman Sachs, said in a statement: “We stand by our results and our research.”

SII declined to comment. Bharat Biotech, which said Monday it did not comment on the hacking issues, did not comment immediately on Tuesday.

The office of the chief executive of India’s state-run Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) told Reuters on Monday that the hacking case had been turned to its director of operations.

He declined further comments.

SII manufactures the University of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for many countries and will soon begin bulk manufacturing Novavax injections, while Bharat Biotech plans to export its COVAXIN injection to dozens of countries, including Brazil and the Philippines.

China and India have both sold or offered COVID-19 injections to many countries. India produces more than 60% of all vaccines sold in the world.

Relations between nuclear-weapon neighbors deteriorated in June when 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers were killed in a clash on the Himalayan border. Recent talks have eased tensions, and China’s Foreign Ministry said both sides are working to save peace in the border region.

“China and India are using the military diplomatic channel to communicate on how to properly handle the border situation,” said the statement from the Foreign Ministry.

“We hope that everyone can work together to stop the spread of false information,” he added.

Reporting by Yew Lun Tian in Beijing and Krishna N. Das in New Delhi.