VOA慢速英语--美国、英国、加拿大指责俄罗斯入侵冠状病毒研究

The United States, Britain and Canada have accused Russia of trying to steal Western research into coronavirus vaccines² and treatments.

In a joint³ statement, the three governments said Thursday the hacking⁵ operation started in February and has continued since. They identified the Russian hacking group APT29, also known as Cozy⁶ Bear, as being behind the attacks.

Anne Neuberger is cybersecurity director at the U.S. National Security Agency. She said, "APT29 has a long history of targeting governmental, diplomatic, think tank, health care and energy organizations for intelligence gain, so we encourage everyone to take this threat seriously."

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab added, "It is completely unacceptable that the Russian Intelligence Services are targeting those working to combat the coronavirus pandemic.″

Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, rejected the accusation⁷, saying: "Russia has nothing to do with those attempts." He added, "We don't have information about who may have hacked⁸ pharmaceutical⁹ companies and research centers in Britain."

Cozy Bear and another group called Fancy Bear were accused by U.S. intelligence officials of hacking into the U.S. Democratic Party email server. Russia denied any involvement in the incident, which took place during the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

The three Western allies first warned in May that state-backed hackers¹⁰ were trying to steal coronavirus research. But at the time, they did not identify who was behind the attack.

The announcement came from Britain's National Cyber Security Centre, the Canadian Communication Security Establishment, and the National Security Agency. The coordinated¹¹ move seemed designed to add more weight and gravity to the accusation – hopefully leading targets of the hackers to take protective action.

As COVID-19 spreads to more than 180 countries and territories, efforts to create an effective vaccine¹ and treatment have expanded worldwide. Johns Hopkins University's Coronavirus Resource Center estimates that, as of July 16, COVID-19 has infected more than 13 million people and killed 580,000.

The World Health Organization has listed several human trials in Britain and the United States among the most promising¹² candidates to produce an effective vaccine. These include major development programs by the companies AstraZeneca and Moderna.

Russian officials, however, have said the country's own vaccine is far more developed. Russia has claimed it could be the first country to start giving vaccines to people.

U.S. officials have also accused China of trying to steal vaccine research. Federal Bureau of Investigation¹³ Director Chris Wray said last week, "At this very moment, China is working to compromise American health care organizations, pharmaceutical companies, and academic institutions conducting essential COVID-19 research."

Mike Chapple is an information technology expert at the University of Notre Dame¹⁴. He said, "It's reasonable to conclude that the coronavirus is the No. 1 priority of every intelligence agency around the world right now.″

I'm Jonathan Evans.

Words in This Story

hack⁴ – v. to secretly get access to files on a computer and a network to get information

encourage – v. to advise someone more likely to do something

combat – v. to fight against (someone)

pandemic – n. an occurrence in which a disease spreads very quickly and affects a large number of people

compromise – v. to damage by doing something to cause the desired effect

essential – adj. extremely important

priority – n. something that is more important than other things and that needs to be done first

1 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

2 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

3 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

4 hack   

n.劈，砍，出租马车；v.劈，砍，干咳

参考例句：

• He made a hack at the log.他朝圆木上砍了一下。
• Early settlers had to hack out a clearing in the forest where they could grow crops.早期移民不得不在森林里劈出空地种庄稼。

5 hacking   

n.非法访问计算机系统和数据库的活动

参考例句：

• The patient with emphysema is hacking all day. 这个肺气肿病人整天不断地干咳。
• We undertook the task of hacking our way through the jungle. 我们负责在丛林中开路。

6 cozy   

adj.亲如手足的，密切的，暖和舒服的

参考例句：

• I like blankets because they are cozy.我喜欢毛毯，因为他们是舒适的。
• We spent a cozy evening chatting by the fire.我们在炉火旁聊天度过了一个舒适的晚上。

7 accusation   

n.控告，指责，谴责

参考例句：

• I was furious at his making such an accusation.我对他的这种责备非常气愤。
• She knew that no one would believe her accusation.她知道没人会相信她的指控。

8 hacked   

生气

参考例句：

• I hacked the dead branches off. 我把枯树枝砍掉了。
• I'm really hacked off. 我真是很恼火。

9 pharmaceutical   

adj.药学的，药物的；药用的，药剂师的

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a pharmaceutical laboratory.她捐款成立了一个药剂实验室。
• We are engaged in a legal tussle with a large pharmaceutical company.我们正同一家大制药公司闹法律纠纷。

10 hackers   

n.计算机迷( hacker的名词复数 )；私自存取或篡改电脑资料者，电脑“黑客”

参考例句：

• They think of viruses that infect an organization from the outside.They envision hackers breaking into their information vaults. 他们考虑来自外部的感染公司的病毒，他们设想黑客侵入到信息宝库中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Arranging a meeting with the hackers took weeks againoff-again email exchanges. 通过几星期电子邮件往来安排见面，他们最终同意了。 来自互联网

11 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

12 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

13 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

14 dame   

n.女士

参考例句：

• The dame tell of her experience as a wife and mother.这位年长妇女讲了她作妻子和母亲的经验。
• If you stick around,you'll have to marry that dame.如果再逗留多一会，你就要跟那个夫人结婚。