Chinese government-linked hackers targeted biotech company Moderna Inc, a leading US-based coronavirus vaccine research developer, earlier this year in a bid to steal valuable data, according to a US security official tracking Chinese hacking activity.

Last week, the US Justice Department made public an indictment of two Chinese nationals accused of spying on the United States, including three unnamed US-based targets involved in medical research to fight the Covid-19 pandemic. The indictment states the Chinese hackers “conducted reconnaissance” against the computer network of a Massachusetts biotech firm known to be working on a coronavirus vaccine in January.

Moderna, which is based in Massachusetts and announced its...