‘Foreign interference of this nature is unacceptable, and we have urged China to refrain from such activity in future,’ New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement.
On Tuesday, the New Zealand government formally conveyed its concerns to the Chinese government regarding its suspected involvement in a state-sponsored cyber intrusion targeting New Zealand’s parliamentary entities in 2021. The disclosure of this breach, detected by New Zealand’s intelligence services, coincides with allegations from Britain and the US accusing China of engaging in extensive cyber espionage activities. Both New Zealand and Australia have publicly denounced this broader pattern of cyber activity.
“He conveyed concerns about cyber activity attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese government, targeting democratic institutions in both New Zealand and the United Kingdom to the Chinese ambassador.
A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in New Zealand said in an email that they outright reject such groundless and irresponsible accusations and have expressed their dissatisfaction and resolute opposition with New Zealand authorities.
“We have never, nor will we in the future, interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, including New Zealand. Accusing China of foreign interference is completely off base,” the spokesperson said.
The government had earlier announced that its communications security bureau (GCSB), which oversees cybersecurity and signals intelligence, had established links between a Chinese state-sponsored actor known as Advanced Persistent Threat 40 (APT40) and malicious cyber activity targeting New Zealand’s parliamentary services and parliamentary counsel office in 2021.
The GCSB stated that APT40 is affiliated with the Ministry of State Security.”
Ministers Wong and O’Neil of Australia condemned ongoing attacks on democracy as unacceptable. They cited a 2019 cyber-attack attributed to China on Australia’s parliament and major political parties, with no official disclosure made.
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