New Zealand's security minister said on Tuesday that in 2021, hackers associated with the Chinese government carried out a state-sponsored operation that was directed against the country's parliament.
The accusation from New Zealand coincides with the release by American and British authorities one day prior of criminal charges and penalties against seven hackers who were thought to be residing in China and who had attacked companies, election watchdogs in the United Kingdom, pro-democracy campaigners, journalists, and US politicians.
New Zealand Minister Condemns Global Cyber Espionage
Judith Collins, who serves as the Minister of the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) of New Zealand, offered a vehement condemnation of cyber-enabled espionage activities that are designed to undermine democratic institutions on a global scale.
Recently, Collins made a statement to the media in which she stressed the reprehensible aspect of these activities and the vital importance of taking unified action to put an end to them.
Collins disclosed that the GCSB found a state-sponsored actor associated with China that is conducting malevolent cyberattacks against the legislative entities of New Zealand.
Collins says that when important legislative offices were compromised in 2021, the GCSB's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) carried out an extensive technical evaluation. According to this assessment, the cyber activity was related to the APT40 organization, which is based in China.
Fortunately, the NCSC worked with the impacted firms immediately to stop the intrusion and remove the danger from the hacked network. It turns out that the targeted networks had information that was essential to the New Zealand government's operation and highlights how serious the cyberattack was, according to Independent.
New Zealand Refrains From China Sanctions
New Zealand decided not to impose penalties on China in line with the United States and the United Kingdom, despite the seriousness of the cyberattack. Collins clarified that there is currently no legislation in place in New Zealand to impose such sanctions, and there are no urgent intentions to do so.
Winston Peters, the foreign minister of New Zealand, expressed similar worries to Collins' and underlined that this kind of foreign meddling is inappropriate. Peters declared that New Zealand would keep speaking out against this kind of behavior and taking a strong stand against actions that endanger democratic institutions.
Wang Yi, Peters' counterpart in China, highlighted the complexity of the two nations' relationship at their latest discussion. Although Peters recognized areas of interaction with China, New Zealand will continue to speak out against practices that are troubling.
Concurrently, these improvements correspond with the Biden administration's endeavors to tackle cybersecurity issues and restore balance with China. Sanctions against Chinese hackers were recently imposed, which highlights ongoing disputes worldwide over cybersecurity and democratic integrity.
Aside from the cyber assault on New Zealand's legislative bodies, analogous occurrences have been documented in the United Kingdom. British officials verified that Chinese hackers had attempted to access the email accounts of many Members of Parliament, including well-known opponents of China's policies, The New York Times reported.
Related Article: UK Accuses China of Cyberattacks on Electoral Database
