New Zealand’s government expressed concerns Tuesday about China’s alleged involvement in a cyberattack that targeted New Zealand’s parliament. According to New Zealand’s intelligence agency, the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB), the cyberattack dates back to August 2021 when the National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) discovered that the networks of both the Parliamentary Council Office and the Parliamentary Service were targeted by “malicious cyber activity.”

Investigations later revealed that a group backed by the People’s Republic of China (PRC), known as Advanced Persistent Threat 40 or APT 40, was behind the attack. The GCSB Director-General Andrew Clark said that the link between the Chinese government and the mentioned group was “reinforced by analysis from international partners of similar events in their own jurisdictions,”  with no further details on the kind of data that was taken in the attack.

Foreign Minister Winston Peters referred to the cyberattacks as “unacceptable foreign interference” and sent senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to discuss the matter with the Chinese ambassador. Peters added that officials “urged” China to refrain from conducting malicious activities again and pointed out that the government will continue to “speak out” about similar behaviours or potential threats in the future.

However, the spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in New Zealand declared in a statement that the PRC “rejects such groundless and irresponsible accusations” which are more part of a “politicization” or “weaponization” of cybersecurity issues than a serious investigation based on objective and adequate evidence. He also added that “non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs is a fundamental principle of Chinese diplomacy” and that New Zealand’s government should stick to its “proud independent foreign policy” by “independently making its judgements and decisions” that serve its interests rather than “blindly following other’s words and actions at the expense of New Zealand’s own credibility and interests.”

New Zealand’s accusations against China come one day after the UK held a Chinese state-affiliated organization, identified as Advanced Persistent Threat Group 31 (APT 31), responsible for two cyber campaigns against British democratic institutions and parliamentarians.