A Chinese hacking group has attacked New Zealand's parliamentary network

The New Zealand government said a hacking group backed by communist Chinese authorities attacked the parliamentary network.

New Zealand accused China on March 26, saying Chinese hackers backed by Chinese authorities used a cyberattack in 2021 to compromise sensitive New Zealand government computer systems, Voice of America reported.

New Zealand's counter-espionage agency said a Chinese-backed hacking group known as APT40 had infiltrated computers connected to New Zealand's parliamentary network. “APT” is an abbreviation for “Assigned Persistent Threats.”

New Zealand's Security Minister, Judith Collins, issued a statement, saying that through a robust technical assessment, the group responsible for the cyber attack had been identified.

"This website contains important information to help the New Zealand government operate effectively. We must protect this information from all malicious cyber threats," she said in a statement.

On the same day, the United States and Britain accused seven Chinese hackers of involvement in a global cyberattack, in addition to punishing a Chinese company and two Chinese individuals involved in cyberattacks.