New Zealand has lodged accusations against China, alleging malicious cyber activity perpetrated by Chinese state-backed actors, particularly targeting its parliament in 2021.

Winston Peters, New Zealand's Foreign Minister, voiced the government's concerns regarding 'malicious cyber activity attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government' in a statement on Tuesday.

Peters emphasised that foreign interference of this nature is deemed unacceptable, urging China to desist from such actions in the future. He further mentioned that New Zealand officials have conveyed their concerns directly to the Chinese ambassador, particularly emphasising the targeting of democratic institutions.

Judith Collins, New Zealand's Minister for Communications Security Bureau, echoed Peters' sentiment, denouncing the use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to disrupt democratic institutions and processes globally.

Collins disclosed that New Zealand's intelligence service, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), conducted a thorough technical assessment after the compromise of the Parliamentary Counsel Office and the Parliamentary Service in 2021. She attributed this activity to a Chinese state-sponsored group.

Currently, the Chinese embassy in New Zealand has not provided any immediate response to the allegations.

This announcement follows the USA and UK assertions, implicating China-linked hackers in a cyberespionage campaign. This campaign reportedly involved the theft of British voter data and the targeting of millions of individuals, spanning lawmakers, academics, journalists, and defence contractors.

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