On Tuesday, New Zealand reportedly informed China of concerns regarding a state-sponsored cyberattack on its parliament in 2021, as discovered by the nation’s intelligence services. This revelation coincides with accusations from the United States and Britain against China for broad-scale cyberespionage operations, which both Australia and New Zealand have denounced. New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters stated that China had been urged to refrain from such activities, while the Chinese Embassy in New Zealand rejected the accusations as groundless and irresponsible.
Furthermore, New Zealand disclosed that seven of its citizens had trained China’s military over the past 18 months, posing a significant national security risk. The Chinese Embassy denied interference in other countries’ internal affairs and criticized the accusations. The New Zealand government revealed links between the cyberattack and Advanced Persistent Threat 40 (APT40), a Chinese state-sponsored actor, according to the Communications Security Bureau (GCSB).
While sensitive data access was confirmed, none was deleted, but the GCSB suspected the group had removed technical information for more invasive actions. State-sponsored actors were involved in 23 percent of the 316 malicious cyber events in the previous fiscal year, according to the GCSB, with New Zealand previously denouncing Russia’s cyberactivity.
Late Monday, the US and UK officials charged Beijing with cyber espionage, targeting millions, including lawmakers, journalists, and defense contractors. Australia condemned such attacks on democratic institutions and procedures, echoing New Zealand’s concerns.
New Zealand’s Security Intelligence Service reported that seven nationals had resigned from positions at firms supplying China’s military with training, posing a serious national security threat.
