New Zealand parliament targeted in China-backed hack in 2021, spy agency says

Prime minister Christopher Luxon said it was the first time New Zealand had publicly attributed ‘malicious cyber-activity on our democratic institutions’ to China. The GCSB confirmed the breach on Tuesday. Photograph: Mark Baker/AP

A group backed by the Chinese state targeted New Zealand government services in a cyber-attack in 2021, New Zealand’s intelligence agency has said.

The government and intelligence agency – the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) – confirmed the breach on Tuesday after the UK and the US accused China of similar attacks.