New Zealand Cyber Security Center warns China as largest source of national cyber threats

The New Zealand Cyber ​​Security Agency said today that as foreign forces target government agencies and organizations in areas such as health, education and information technology, China has become New Zealand's most frequent and powerful source of national cyber threats.

Reuters reported that the National Cyber ​​Security Center, part of New Zealand's intelligence system, stated that it had discovered activities suspected to originate from foreign state forces, putting New Zealand's sensitive information at risk of leakage.

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According to the annual Cyber Threat Report released today by the National Cyber Security Center, relevant suspected state-sponsored cyber activities are related to individuals from China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.

"Among these countries, the People's Republic of China is the state entity with the most frequent and powerful cyber activities in New Zealand," the report states.

The assessment is the latest warning from Western intelligence agencies about China's alleged cyber espionage campaign, accusations that Beijing has consistently denied. Prior to this, the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS) released a report in August stating that China was the only country in New Zealand that had detected "large-scale" espionage activities.

The cyber security report mentioned that in the year to June this year, of the 369 cyber incidents that were deemed to have a major national impact, 86 were suspected to be related to state-sponsored forces. These incidents include attacks against government agencies, health and education organizations, and IT hosting providers.

The National Cyber ​​Security Center warned that geopolitical competition is increasingly taking place in the South Pacific, and that the Center has mastered state-level cyber espionage activities targeting governments and infrastructure.

The National Cyber ​​Security Center said New Zealand has close family, cultural, political and economic ties with the entire Pacific region, and such activities may affect ordinary people, businesses and civic institutions.

The National Cyber ​​Security Center pointed out that state-level forces may target organizations that operate infrastructure or networks, provide basic public services, or possess information that may bring strategic advantage.

The National Cyber ​​Security Center warns that cyber espionage is often difficult to detect, with hackers conducting reconnaissance and deploying access rights to systems for months or even years before using them to gather intelligence or cause damage.

The report points out that long-term intrusions may lead to the penetration and destruction of operational technology systems and the leakage of corporate and personal data.