New Zealand boosting Fiji’s cybersecurity capabilities amid suspected China-linked hacking
Reuters
New Zealand’s intelligence agency will help enhance Fiji’s security sector after United States warnings of suspected China-linked cyber intrusions highlighted concerns about vulnerabilities in the Pacific Island Country.
Fiji said it approved a six-month partnership with the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS), funded by Wellington, to assess its intelligence structure and recommend reforms.
The review is designed to improve coordination and information-sharing across agencies. Reforms would create a more sustainable intelligence framework with clearer roles and stronger support for national security decision-making, the Fijian government said.
The NZSIS said its mission includes keeping New Zealand safe and contributing to an open, stable and resilient Pacific region, including working with partners on shared security challenges and resilience building.
The U.S. Embassy in Suva in mid-October 2026 said it alerted Fiji and a regional organization based in the nation’s capital to a suspected network compromise between July and August 2026.
The embassy said China-linked hackers maintained access to the organization’s network for several days and that Washington provided technical recommendations to help Fiji and the organization, which was not identified, protect their systems.
The U.S. continues to monitor China-linked, state-sponsored cyber actors targeting foreign governments, multilateral organizations and telecommunications networks in the Pacific, the embassy stated. It said stolen data could expose sensitive communications among Pacific countries and territories.
The U.S. Justice Department seized seven internet domains in October 2026 to disrupt hackers accused of working with a Chinese information technology firm. The domains were used to scan and hack U.S. and other critical infrastructure, officials said.
China-linked hackers also have been impersonating experts in super intelligence, also known as artificial intelligence, to steal passwords from individuals at think tanks, universities and law firms since at least 2025, cybersecurity company Proofpoint said in October.
