US is experiencing a mass cyber espionage by so-called Chinese hackers. The hackers have attacked email accounts all over the world. Who is behind these attacks? The Mohammad Saleh reports.

Gravitas: US experiences a mass cyber espionage | Is China involved?

As cyberattacks proliferated this year, Sanjay Beri, CEO of Netskope, a cloud security startup, got a phone call. Then an email. Then more messages.

All were from venture capitalists who wanted to invest in his company. Given the ransomware attacks and nation-state hacks that were making headlines, they told him, companies that made security products had a bigger market and mission than before.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/how-have-cyber-attacks-become-strategy-for-hybrid-warfare-399782">How have cyber attacks become strategy for hybrid warfare?</a>

“We weren’t looking for capital,” said Beri, who founded Netskope in 2012, but the cyberattacks “definitely increased their interest.”

After bids from seven investors, Netskope raised $300 million this month at a valuation of $7.5 billion, up from a $2.8 billion valuation last year. It was one of the year’s largest cybersecurity funding rounds, but not the maximum that Netskope could have attained.

“We could have raised $1 billion in capital,” Beri said.

Recent cyberattacks around the world have taken down operations at gasoline pipelines, hospitals and grocery chains and potentially compromised some intelligence agencies. But they have been a bonanza for one group: cybersecurity startups.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/white-house-weighs-new-cybersecurity-approach-after-failure-to-detect-hacks-370603">White House weighs new cybersecurity approach after failure to detect hacks</a>

Investors have poured more than $12.2 billion into startups that sell products and services such as cloud security, identify verification and privacy protection so far this year. That exceeds the $10.4 billion that cybersecurity companies raised in all of 2020 and is more than double the $4.8 billion raised in 2016, according to the research firm PitchBook, which tracks funding. Since 2019, the rise in cybersecurity funding has outpaced the increase in overall venture funding.

The surge follows a slew of high-profile ransomware attacks, including against Colonial Pipeline, software maker Kaseya and meat processor JBS. When President Joe Biden met with Russian President Vladimir Putin last month, cyberattacks perpetrated by Russians were high on the diplomatic agenda. This month, the Biden administration and its allies also formally accused China of conducting hacks.

<iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/us-allies-condemn-china-for-malicious-cyber-activity-399125/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe>

The breaches have fueled concerns among companies and governments, leading to increased spending on security products. Worldwide spending on information security and related services is expected to reach $150 billion this year, up 12 per cent from a year ago, according to the research company Gartner.

“Before we got to this point, we as security teams were having to go and fight for every penny we could get, and now it’s the exact opposite,” said John Turner, an information security manager at LendingTree, an online lending marketplace. Executives, he said, are asking: “Are we protected? What do you need?”

All of this is set to drive business for cybersecurity companies, creating a potential windfall that has excited investors. The average valuation of cybersecurity companies raising funds this year has more than doubled to $524.1 million from $221.8 million in 2020, according to PitchBook.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/biden-if-us-has-real-shooting-war-it-could-be-result-of-cyber-attacks-401055">Biden: If US has 'real shooting war' it could be result of cyber attacks</a>

“In close to two decades as a VC, I’ve never seen valuations so escalated,” said Asheem Chandna, a venture capitalist at Greylock Partners, who has invested in security companies such as Palo Alto Networks.

The money is flooding into startups that are tackling hackers in new ways. Traditionally, security systems at companies relied on the idea of securing a perimeter. That meant companies installed firewalls and other software to protect access to their corporate network.

But over the past several years, a shift to cloud computing has rendered the perimeter and the reliance on corporate networks obsolete. Employees now get access to applications over the internet, rather than through a data center operated by their employer. That has opened the door to startups that focus on cloud-based security and identity verification.

“Don’t build higher fences — have really good ID cards,” said Jason Crabtree, CEO of Qomplx, a risk-analytics startup that provides identity-verification software and is in the process of going public.

The funding frenzy has built for months. The <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/coronavirus">pandemic</a> provided momentum when companies shifted to remote work, which required securing those remote-access systems, investors and executives said.

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/cyber-attack-disrupts-major-south-african-port-operations-401656/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

n a Friday evening in October, Chandna introduced the CEO of Abnormal Security, an email-security company in which he had invested, to another investor, he said. That investor, Venky Ganesan of Menlo Ventures, who had been pursuing a meeting with the CEO, Evan Reiser, for months, immediately emailed Reiser to invite him to dinner that night.

Reiser drove, he said, from San Francisco to Ganesan’s home in Atherton, California, about 30 miles away. By the end of the weekend, Abnormal had signed a deal to raise $50 million at a $600 million valuation, putting its total funding at $74 million. Menlo’s $40 million check was the firm’s largest investment ever.

“As shotgun weddings go, it’s as shotgun as you can get,” Ganesan said.

Since then, the ransomware attacks have given the funding wave a further boost.

In January, Lacework, a cloud security startup in San Jose, California, garnered $525 million in funding. Investors reached out because of Lacework’s products, which use artificial intelligence to identify threats, said Andy Byron, the company’s chief resource officer. In total, Lacework has raised $625 million since it was founded in 2015.

Mike Speiser, a venture capitalist at Sutter Hill Ventures, which led Lacework’s January financing, had no problem getting other investors to participate, he said.

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-how-china-breached-thousands-of-organisations-with-one-hacking-operation-399317/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

I called the five people that I thought were the best investors and asked them if they were interested. They were all interested, and within 48 hours we had a deal,” Speiser said. “One hundred percent of the people I called said they wanted in. We could have raised well over $1 billion.”

Business has boomed for Lacework because of “the combination of all of these ransomware and nation-state attacks, together with people moving to the cloud so aggressively,” said David Hatfield, who joined the startup in February as CEO.

Other security startups have also benefited. Orca, a cloud-security startup, raised $210 million in March. Trulioo, a company that makes sure users are who they say they are when they join a platform, collected $394 million last month.

Security startups are also being acquired for large sums or are going public. Last month, SentinelOne went public with a market capitalization of over $10 billion, the highest-valued cybersecurity public offering. In May, Auth0, an identity-verification company, was bought by Okta, another security company, for $6.5 billion.

Netskope's Beri said that with cybersecurity threats mounting, the funding boom was likely to continue.

“Many investors are not security savvy,” he said. “But when your next-door neighbors go, ‘Hey, what’s up with this ransomware stuff,’ then you know that it’s reached public consciousness. From an investor’s perspective, when something hits the average person’s mind, they realize: ‘Wow. This is here to stay.’”

As cyberattacks proliferated this year, Sanjay Beri, CEO of Netskope, a cloud security startup, got a phone call. Then an email. Then more messages. All were from venture capitalists who wanted to invest in his company.

As cyberattacks proliferated this year, Sanjay Beri, CEO of Netskope, a cloud security startup, got a phone call. Then an email. Then more messages. All were from venture capitalists who wanted to invest in his company. Given the ransomware attacks and nation-state hacks that were making headlines, they told him, companies that made security products had a bigger market and mission than before. Also read | How have cyber attacks become strategy for hybrid warfare? “We weren’t looking for capital,” said Beri, who founded Netskope in 2012, but the cyberattacks “definitely increased their interest.” After bids from seven investors, Netskope raised $300 million this month at a valuation of $7.5 billion, up from a $2.8 billion valuation last year. It was one of the year’s largest cybersecurity funding rounds, but not the maximum that Netskope could have attained. “We could have raised $1 billion in capital,” Beri said. Recent cyberattacks around the world have taken down operations at gasoline pipelines, hospitals and grocery chains and potentially compromised some intelligence agencies. But they have been a bonanza for one group: cybersecurity startups. Also read | White House weighs new cybersecurity approach after failure to detect hacks Investors have poured more than $12.2 billion into startups that sell products and services such as cloud security, identify verification and privacy protection so far this year. That exceeds the $10.4 billion that cybersecurity companies raised in all of 2020 and is more than double the $4.8 billion raised in 2016, according to the research firm PitchBook, which tracks funding. Since 2019, the rise in cybersecurity funding has outpaced the increase in overall venture funding. The surge follows a slew of high-profile ransomware attacks, including against Colonial Pipeline, software maker Kaseya and meat processor JBS. When President Joe Biden met with Russian President Vladimir Putin last month, cyberattacks perpetrated by Russians were high on the diplomatic agenda. This month, the Biden administration and its allies also formally accused China of conducting hacks. The breaches have fueled concerns among companies and governments, leading to increased spending on security products. Worldwide spending on information security and related services is expected to reach $150 billion this year, up 12 per cent from a year ago, according to the research company Gartner. “Before we got to this point, we as security teams were having to go and fight for every penny we could get, and now it’s the exact opposite,” said John Turner, an information security manager at LendingTree, an online lending marketplace. Executives, he said, are asking: “Are we protected? What do you need?” All of this is set to drive business for cybersecurity companies, creating a potential windfall that has excited investors. The average valuation of cybersecurity companies raising funds this year has more than doubled to $524.1 million from $221.8 million in 2020, according to PitchBook. Also read | Biden: If US has 'real shooting war' it could be result of cyber attacks “In close to two decades as a VC, I’ve never seen valuations so escalated,” said Asheem Chandna, a venture capitalist at Greylock Partners, who has invested in security companies such as Palo Alto Networks. The money is flooding into startups that are tackling hackers in new ways. Traditionally, security systems at companies relied on the idea of securing a perimeter. That meant companies installed firewalls and other software to protect access to their corporate network. But over the past several years, a shift to cloud computing has rendered the perimeter and the reliance on corporate networks obsolete. Employees now get access to applications over the internet, rather than through a data center operated by their employer. That has opened the door to startups that focus on cloud-based security and identity verification. “Don’t build higher fences — have really good ID cards,” said Jason Crabtree, CEO of Qomplx, a risk-analytics startup that provides identity-verification software and is in the process of going public. The funding frenzy has built for months. The pandemic provided momentum when companies shifted to remote work, which required securing those remote-access systems, investors and executives said. n a Friday evening in October, Chandna introduced the CEO of Abnormal Security, an email-security company in which he had invested, to another investor, he said. That investor, Venky Ganesan of Menlo Ventures, who had been pursuing a meeting with the CEO, Evan Reiser, for months, immediately emailed Reiser to invite him to dinner that night. Reiser drove, he said, from San Francisco to Ganesan’s home in Atherton, California, about 30 miles away. By the end of the weekend, Abnormal had signed a deal to raise $50 million at a $600 million valuation, putting its total funding at $74 million. Menlo’s $40 million check was the firm’s largest investment ever. “As shotgun weddings go, it’s as shotgun as you can get,” Ganesan said. Since then, the ransomware attacks have given the funding wave a further boost. In January, Lacework, a cloud security startup in San Jose, California, garnered $525 million in funding. Investors reached out because of Lacework’s products, which use artificial intelligence to identify threats, said Andy Byron, the company’s chief resource officer. In total, Lacework has raised $625 million since it was founded in 2015. Mike Speiser, a venture capitalist at Sutter Hill Ventures, which led Lacework’s January financing, had no problem getting other investors to participate, he said. I called the five people that I thought were the best investors and asked them if they were interested. They were all interested, and within 48 hours we had a deal,” Speiser said. “One hundred percent of the people I called said they wanted in. We could have raised well over $1 billion.” Business has boomed for Lacework because of “the combination of all of these ransomware and nation-state attacks, together with people moving to the cloud so aggressively,” said David Hatfield, who joined the startup in February as CEO. Other security startups have also benefited. Orca, a cloud-security startup, raised $210 million in March. Trulioo, a company that makes sure users are who they say they are when they join a platform, collected $394 million last month. Security startups are also being acquired for large sums or are going public. Last month, SentinelOne went public with a market capitalization of over $10 billion, the highest-valued cybersecurity public offering. In May, Auth0, an identity-verification company, was bought by Okta, another security company, for $6.5 billion. Netskope's Beri said that with cybersecurity threats mounting, the funding boom was likely to continue. “Many investors are not security savvy,” he said. “But when your next-door neighbors go, ‘Hey, what’s up with this ransomware stuff,’ then you know that it’s reached public consciousness. From an investor’s perspective, when something hits the average person’s mind, they realize: ‘Wow. This is here to stay.’”

As cyberattacks surge, security startups reap the rewards

The Russian hackers behind the massive SolarWinds cyberespionage campaign broke into the email accounts of some of the most prominent federal prosecutors' offices around the country last year, the Justice Department said Friday.

The department said 80 per cent of Microsoft email accounts used by employees in the four US attorney offices in New York were breached. All told, the Justice Department said 27 US Attorney offices had at least one employee's email account compromised during the hacking campaign.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/biden-budget-sets-aside-750-million-for-solarwinds-response-388143">Biden budget sets aside $750 million for SolarWinds response</a>

The Justice Department said in a statement that it believes the accounts were compromised from May 7 to December 27, 2020. Such a timeframe is notable because the SolarWinds campaign, which infiltrated dozens of private-sector companies and thinktanks as well as at least nine US government agencies, was first discovered and publicized in mid-December.

The Biden administration in April announced sanctions, including the expulsion of Russian diplomats, in response to the SolarWinds hack and Russian interference in the 2020 US presidential election. Russia has denied wrongdoing.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-eyes-more-stable-profitable-ties-with-russia-blinken-tells-paper-394666">US eyes more stable, profitable ties with Russia, Blinken tells paper</a>

Jennifer Rodgers, a lecturer at Columbia Law School, said office emails frequently contained all sorts of sensitive information, including case strategy discussions and names of confidential informants, when she was a federal prosecutor in New York.

"I don't remember ever having someone bring me a document instead of emailing it to me because of security concerns,"&nbsp;she said, noting exceptions for classified materials.

The Administrative Office of US Courts confirmed in January that it was also breached, giving the SolarWinds hackers another entry point to steal confidential information like trade secrets, espionage targets, whistleblower reports and arrest warrants.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/biden-if-us-has-real-shooting-war-it-could-be-result-of-cyber-attacks-401055">Biden: If US has 'real shooting war' it could be result of cyber attacks</a>

The list of affected offices includes several large and high-profile ones like those in Los Angeles, Miami, Washington and the Eastern District of Virginia.

The Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, where large numbers of staff were hit, handle some of the most prominent prosecutors in the country.

"New York is the financial centre of the world and those districts are particularly well known for investigating and prosecuting white-collar crimes and other cases, including investigating people close to the former president,"&nbsp;said Bruce Green, a professor at Fordham Law School and a former prosecutor in the Southern District.

The department said all victims had been notified and it is working to mitigate "operational, security and privacy risks"&nbsp;caused by the hack. The Justice Department said in January that it had no indication that any classified systems were impacted.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/microsoft-says-solarwinds-hackers-again-targetting-government-agencies-with-phishing-388020">Microsoft says SolarWinds hackers again targetting government agencies with phishing</a>

The Justice Department did not provide additional detail about what kind of information was taken and what impact such a hack may have on ongoing cases. Members of Congress have expressed frustration with the Biden administration for not sharing more information about the impact of the SolarWinds campaign.

The Associated Press previously reported that SolarWinds hackers had gained access to email accounts belonging to the then-acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf and members of the department's cybersecurity staff whose jobs included hunting threats from foreign countries.

The Russian hackers behind the massive SolarWinds cyberespionage campaign broke into the email accounts of some of the most prominent federal prosecutors' offices around the country last year, the Justice Department said Friday.

The Russian hackers behind the massive SolarWinds cyberespionage campaign broke into the email accounts of some of the most prominent federal prosecutors' offices around the country last year, the Justice Department said Friday. The department said 80 per cent of Microsoft email accounts used by employees in the four US attorney offices in New York were breached. All told, the Justice Department said 27 US Attorney offices had at least one employee's email account compromised during the hacking campaign. Also read | Biden budget sets aside $750 million for SolarWinds response The Justice Department said in a statement that it believes the accounts were compromised from May 7 to December 27, 2020. Such a timeframe is notable because the SolarWinds campaign, which infiltrated dozens of private-sector companies and thinktanks as well as at least nine US government agencies, was first discovered and publicized in mid-December. The Biden administration in April announced sanctions, including the expulsion of Russian diplomats, in response to the SolarWinds hack and Russian interference in the 2020 US presidential election. Russia has denied wrongdoing. Also read | US eyes more stable, profitable ties with Russia, Blinken tells paper Jennifer Rodgers, a lecturer at Columbia Law School, said office emails frequently contained all sorts of sensitive information, including case strategy discussions and names of confidential informants, when she was a federal prosecutor in New York. "I don't remember ever having someone bring me a document instead of emailing it to me because of security concerns," she said, noting exceptions for classified materials. The Administrative Office of US Courts confirmed in January that it was also breached, giving the SolarWinds hackers another entry point to steal confidential information like trade secrets, espionage targets, whistleblower reports and arrest warrants. Also read | Biden: If US has 'real shooting war' it could be result of cyber attacks The list of affected offices includes several large and high-profile ones like those in Los Angeles, Miami, Washington and the Eastern District of Virginia. The Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, where large numbers of staff were hit, handle some of the most prominent prosecutors in the country. "New York is the financial centre of the world and those districts are particularly well known for investigating and prosecuting white-collar crimes and other cases, including investigating people close to the former president," said Bruce Green, a professor at Fordham Law School and a former prosecutor in the Southern District. The department said all victims had been notified and it is working to mitigate "operational, security and privacy risks" caused by the hack. The Justice Department said in January that it had no indication that any classified systems were impacted. Also read | Microsoft says SolarWinds hackers again targetting government agencies with phishing The Justice Department did not provide additional detail about what kind of information was taken and what impact such a hack may have on ongoing cases. Members of Congress have expressed frustration with the Biden administration for not sharing more information about the impact of the SolarWinds campaign. The Associated Press previously reported that SolarWinds hackers had gained access to email accounts belonging to the then-acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf and members of the department's cybersecurity staff whose jobs included hunting threats from foreign countries.

US Justice Department: Federal prosecutors also targeted by Russian SolarWinds cyber espionage

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China and Canada have signed an agreement vowing not to conduct state-sponsored cyber attacks against each other aimed at stealing trade secrets or other confidential business information.

According to a statement released by the Canadian government on its website, the agreement was reached during talks between Canada&#39;s national security and intelligence adviser, Daniel Jean, and senior communist party official Wang Yongqing

&quot;This is something that three or four years ago (Beijing) would not even have entertained in the conversation,&quot; an unnamed Canadian government official told the Globe and Mail.

The new agreement only covers economic cyber-espionage, which includes hacking corporate secrets and proprietary technology, and does not deal with state-sponsored cyber spying for intelligence gathering.

&quot;The two sides agreed that neither country&#39;s government would conduct or knowingly support cyber-enabled theft of intellectual property, including trade secrets or other confidential business information, with the intent of providing competitive advantages to companies or commercial sectors,&quot; the Canadian Government said in the statement. China&#39;s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Some countries, including the United States, have long accused Beijing of sponsoring hacking attacks on companies in an effort to acquire sensitive foreign technology. China denies those accusations and says that it is also a victim of hacking.

In 2015 China and the United States came to a similar understanding on corporate cyber-espionage after the Obama administration had mulled targeted sanctions against Chinese individuals and companies for cyber attacks against US commercial targets. US cyber security executives and government advisors said breaches attributed to China-based groups had dropped around the time of that agreement.

China this month put into effect a new cyber security law designed to strengthen critical infrastructure, even as many global tech firms and lobbies said the rules skewed the playing field against foreign firms.

The agreement was reached during talks between Canada's national security and intelligence adviser, Daniel Jean, and senior communist party official Wang Yongqing

China and Canada have signed an agreement vowing not to conduct state-sponsored cyber attacks against each other aimed at stealing trade secrets or other confidential business information. According to a statement released by the Canadian government on its website, the agreement was reached during talks between Canada's national security and intelligence adviser, Daniel Jean, and senior communist party official Wang Yongqing "This is something that three or four years ago (Beijing) would not even have entertained in the conversation," an unnamed Canadian government official told the Globe and Mail. The new agreement only covers economic cyber-espionage, which includes hacking corporate secrets and proprietary technology, and does not deal with state-sponsored cyber spying for intelligence gathering. "The two sides agreed that neither country's government would conduct or knowingly support cyber-enabled theft of intellectual property, including trade secrets or other confidential business information, with the intent of providing competitive advantages to companies or commercial sectors," the Canadian Government said in the statement. China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Some countries, including the United States, have long accused Beijing of sponsoring hacking attacks on companies in an effort to acquire sensitive foreign technology. China denies those accusations and says that it is also a victim of hacking. In 2015 China and the United States came to a similar understanding on corporate cyber-espionage after the Obama administration had mulled targeted sanctions against Chinese individuals and companies for cyber attacks against US commercial targets. US cyber security executives and government advisors said breaches attributed to China-based groups had dropped around the time of that agreement. China this month put into effect a new cyber security law designed to strengthen critical infrastructure, even as many global tech firms and lobbies said the rules skewed the playing field against foreign firms.

China, Canada vow not to conduct cyber attacks on private sector

Olympic champions Mo Farah, Rafael Nadal and Justin Rose were the latest targets of the recent cyber attack by a Russian espionage group.&nbsp; 
 
The Russian group called Fancy Bears, who hacked into World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) records, are publishing confidential medical documents.&nbsp; 
 
The hackers are believed to have gained access to WADA&#39;s anti-doping administration and management system (ADAMS) via an IOC-created account for the Rio Games. 
 
Spanish tennis ace Nadal and four-time Olympic champion distance runner Farah were among the 60 international athletes whose files were hacked.&nbsp; 
 
The athletes were shown to have used TUEs, therapeutic use exemptions, in the past to gain permission to take substances that figure on WADA&#39;s banned list. The athletes said they had nothing to hide, as they had never taken anything to enhance their performance.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;When you ask permission to take something for therapeutic reasons and they give it to you, you&#39;re not taking anything prohibited,&quot; Nadal, a 14-time Grand Slam winner, told Spanish media. 
 
Nadal said he would, in fact, support the publishing of all medical records as it would add transparency to the sport.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;It would be much more beneficial for sportsmen and women, spectators and media that every time a drug test is taken the news is made public and two weeks later there are the results,&quot; he added. 
 
&quot;This would end the problem. The sport has to take a step forward and be totally transparent. I have been saying this for years.&quot; 
 
TUEs can be issued to athletes who have an illness or condition that requires the use of normally prohibited medication. 
 
Documents relating to Farah showed he received intravenous infusions of saline solution, morphine sulphate and vicodin administered orally during a period in hospital between July 3-5, 2014 when he had collapsed after a training run. 
 
Nadal had received exemptions in 2009 and 2012 when he out with a wrist injury.&nbsp; 
 
WADA alleged that the attacks were only a smear campaign possibly carried out in retaliation for investigations into state-sponsored doping in Russia.&nbsp; 
 
The leaks have reopened a larger debate about TUEs and whether the system is open to abuse from competitors gaining an advantage by taking banned drugs. 
 
(WION with inputs from agencies) 
&nbsp;

Spanish tennis ace Rafael Nadal supported the release of medical reports saying it would bring transparency to the sport

Olympic champions Mo Farah, Rafael Nadal and Justin Rose were the latest targets of the recent cyber attack by a Russian espionage group. The Russian group called Fancy Bears, who hacked into World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) records, are publishing confidential medical documents. The hackers are believed to have gained access to WADA's anti-doping administration and management system (ADAMS) via an IOC-created account for the Rio Games. Spanish tennis ace Nadal and four-time Olympic champion distance runner Farah were among the 60 international athletes whose files were hacked. The athletes were shown to have used TUEs, therapeutic use exemptions, in the past to gain permission to take substances that figure on WADA's banned list. The athletes said they had nothing to hide, as they had never taken anything to enhance their performance. "When you ask permission to take something for therapeutic reasons and they give it to you, you're not taking anything prohibited," Nadal, a 14-time Grand Slam winner, told Spanish media. Nadal said he would, in fact, support the publishing of all medical records as it would add transparency to the sport. "It would be much more beneficial for sportsmen and women, spectators and media that every time a drug test is taken the news is made public and two weeks later there are the results," he added. "This would end the problem. The sport has to take a step forward and be totally transparent. I have been saying this for years." TUEs can be issued to athletes who have an illness or condition that requires the use of normally prohibited medication. Documents relating to Farah showed he received intravenous infusions of saline solution, morphine sulphate and vicodin administered orally during a period in hospital between July 3-5, 2014 when he had collapsed after a training run. Nadal had received exemptions in 2009 and 2012 when he out with a wrist injury. WADA alleged that the attacks were only a smear campaign possibly carried out in retaliation for investigations into state-sponsored doping in Russia. The leaks have reopened a larger debate about TUEs and whether the system is open to abuse from competitors gaining an advantage by taking banned drugs. (WION with inputs from agencies)

WADA data leak: Cyber hackers publish medical records of Olympic champions Nadal, Farah

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