China biggest state-backed cyber threat to New Zealand, security agency says
Reuters
New Zealand’s cybersecurity agency says China is the country’s most persistent state-backed cyber threat, as foreign actors target government agencies and health, education and information technology organizations.
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), part of the New Zealand intelligence community, said it identified illicit activity, suspected of originating from foreign state actors, that put sensitive national information at risk. It linked suspected state-sponsored cyber activity to China, Iran, North Korea and Russia.
“Of these nations the People’s Republic of China is the most persistent and capable state actor undertaking cyber activity in New Zealand,” according to the annual Cyber Threat Report released in September 2026.
The assessment is the latest warning from an intelligence agency over China’s alleged cyber espionage. It came a month after New Zealand reported that China was the only country it detected conducting espionage “at scale.”
The report said 86 of 369 cyber incidents deemed to be of potential national significance in the year ending June 2026 had suspected links to state-sponsored actors. The incidents targeted government agencies, health and education organizations, and information technology providers.
The NCSC warned that geopolitical competition increasingly plays out in the South Pacific, where it was aware of state-backed cyber espionage targeting governments and infrastructure.
The center said cyber espionage can be difficult to detect, with actors conducting reconnaissance and positioning access in systems over months or years before using it for intelligence gathering or disruption.
Long-running intrusions could lead to the compromise of operational technology and the loss of corporate and personal data, it said.
