Chinese Hacker, Wanted By US For Stealing COVID-19 Data, Arrested In Italy

Italian authorities have arrested a Chinese citizen, accused by the United States of being part of a state-sponsored hacking group that stole COVID-19 vaccine secrets from the US  on behalf of Chinese intelligence at the height of the pandemic in early 2020. Xu Zewei was arrested at Milan's Malpensa airport on July 3, after the US issued an international warrant against him, according to Italian authorities.

A nine-count US indictment accused 33-year-old Zewei of working at the behest of China's Ministry of State Security to target US-based universities, immunologists, and virologists conducting research into COVID-19 vaccines, treatment, and testing. The indictment also accuses another person, Zhang Yu, who is believed to be in China, of participating in the activity. 

Zewei was presented at a Milan court on Tuesday as the US Justice Department begins the process to extradite him to America's Texas, where he faces charges related to wire fraud, identity theft and hacking. 

Italy's Justice Ministry confirmed that the US has formally sent an extradition request to Rome for request for Zewei, while he was being held in the country "at the request of US authorities for suspected IT crimes aimed at industrial espionage."

The US believes the Chinese national was linked to a state-sponsored hacking group known as Hafnium that was accused of penetrating Microsoft email software in 2021 in a mass espionage campaign.

Awkward Moment For Meloni?

The arrest of the Chinese citizen, who claimed he was an IT specialist at the Milan court, could put pressure on Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government in Italy, which has sought to court US President Donald Trump while also maintaining good relations with China.

Over the years, the right-wing Meloni has forged a solid personal bond with Trump, even as the European Union remain at odds with Washington. 

But the Italian premier has also maintained friendly diplomatic relations with Beijing, an important trading partner. Rome and Beijing have been on friendly terms even after Meloni decided to withdraw from Chinese President Xi Jinping's flagship Belt and Road Initiative. Italy's deputy prime minister, Matteo Salvini, was due for an official visit to Beijing later this week.

China's Reaction

Chinese Embassy in Washington, DC, said it was unaware of Zewei's case but said that "similar rumours have surfaced multiple times in the past, and China has already stated its position on the matter."

Chinese vaccine research and development is amongst "the most advanced in the world. China has neither the need nor the intention to acquire vaccines through so-called theft," Embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said in a statement to CNN. 

China's Espionage Record

When the pandemic was at its peak in 2020, intelligence services across the globe scrambled to gather more and more information on the impacts of the virus. At the time, the FBI and the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency repeatedly accused China of trying to steal vital research by hacking the systems of US groups studying the virus.

In mid-2020, the US Department of Justice even indicted two other Chinese nationals for allegedly trying to access US research as part of Beijing's decade-long scheme to steal US trade secrets.

At the time, Chinese state media said Washington had no evidence to support the allegations, adding: "It seems that some US politicians have totally lost their minds."