New Zealand v China

According to NZ's Clark won't identify hackers, New Zealand is the latest victim of the someone's cyber brigades:

New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark says she knows which countries tried to hack into her government's computers but is refusing to name names.

Clark on Tuesday confirmed foreign spies had tried to hack into government computers, but they failed to gain access to any classified information.

She said she knew which governments were involved but refused to name them, saying: "That's not the way intelligence matters are handled".

That's interesting. Everyone else likes to point the finger! More on that in a future post. So is China involved? According to New Zealand: China's Spying On Us, Too the answer is yes:

China is once again being blamed for cyberattacks on a foreign country, with New Zealand secret service officials saying the Chinese were behind an attack on its systems...

However, like the US case, a government official identified the source of the hack through the media. In an interview with The Dominion Post, Security Intelligence Service director Warren Tucker hinted that the Communist country was behind it.

We've almost got all of the "five eyes" now -- US, UK, New Zealand... what about Canada and Australia?

Comments

Unknown said…
Doesn't that crack you up? US, UK, Canada and Australia I could see....


But New Zealand?! They're wonderfully tech-heavy for the size of the country, don't get me wrong, I don't mean to criticize their proficiency either...

I just wonder what possible benefit the Chinese would gain by targeting them!
8:21 PM
Anonymous said…
China 'hacked Australian government computers' (September 12, 2007)

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22403224-2,00.html
8:23 PM
Unknown said…
Well then, that's the lot, isn't it?

I would imagine that China's also spying on India, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Germany, France, The Netherlands, Belgium, Lichtenstein, Aruba, Venezuela, Cuba, Mexico, Belize, Cost Rica, My Aunt Jan, the small Chihuahua next door, Sigfried and Roy, The Cleveland Philharmonic, Shari Lewis and Lamb Chop, Franki Valli and at least 3 of the 4 seasons, Barry Bonds and Rick Ankiel, Wayne Gretsky, and the guy in Dogfights who says:

"Lt. So and so is here", "(The Bad Guy) is here"...

not to mention Jimmy Buffet and his dangerous Parrot head political faction.
8:34 PM
Anonymous said…
Alex,
The benefit to China (if it is actually China) is actually fairly simple to understand. NZ is a trusted country ( I forget the actual term) to the US - Intelligence is freely shared therefore it is an avenue (backdoor) into US Intelligence/DOD/Government. Sure they won't see NOFORN intelligence but they will see enough. The same for Canada, Australia, UK and in some cases Israel.
8:36 PM
Unknown said…
Anon,

Oh yeah, totally understand. If I were China, I'd be hacking them, too. It's just kind of funny to think of, I've always perceived the Kiwi's to be like wannabe Switzerland (no insult intended, Gary, if you're reading).
9:03 PM
Anonymous said…
The reason China would want access to NZ government serves is easy to understand. NZ is the first country in the west to be negotiating a free trade deal with China. Imagine the advantage if you can read the email and private documents of the other side of a contract negotiation! Not to mention the fact that NZ also is home to the Australasian node of the echelon network...
10:19 PM
Unknown said…
"NZ also is home to the Australasian node of the echelon network..."

I did not know that! Interesting...

Do you think that means that Australians (or Canadians or British or Americans) are spying on Kiwi conversations then?
9:15 AM
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