New Zealand warns China is country's 'most persistent and capable' state

New Zealand’s cyber security agency said suspected state-backed actors from China, Russia, Iran and North Korea targeted government bodies and organisations handling critical services and sensitive information.

China is New Zealand’s “most persistent and capable” state-backed cyber threat, according to an annual report by the country’s cyber security agency, which warned of growing foreign-backed activity targeting sensitive organisations.

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), part of New Zealand’s intelligence community, said it had detected suspected activity by foreign state actors that posed a risk to sensitive information held in the country.

The agency identified suspected state- cyber activity linked to China, Russia, Iran and North Korea in its annual Cyber Threat Report, released on Thursday.

”Of these nations, the People’s Republic of China is the most persistent and capable state actor undertaking cyber activity in New Zealand,” the report said.

The assessment comes after New Zealand’s security agency warned in August that China was the only country it had detected carrying out espionage “at scale”. Beijing has repeatedly denied allegations of Chinese cyber espionage.

Of the 369 cyber incidents assessed as having potential national significance in the year to June 2026, 86 were suspected of being connected to state- actors, the NCSC said.

The incidents involved targets including government agencies, health and education organisations and managed IT service providers.

The agency also warned that rising geopolitical competition was increasingly extending into the South Pacific, where it had identified state-backed cyber espionage aimed at governments and infrastructure.

New Zealand has close family, cultural, political and economic ties across the Pacific, and such activity could affect citizens, businesses and civic institutions, it said.

State-backed actors were likely to target organisations that operate infrastructure or networks, provide essential public services, or hold information that could offer a strategic advantage, the NCSC said.

The NCSC warned that cyber espionage can remain undetected for extended periods, with attackers potentially spending months or years conducting reconnaissance and establishing access to systems before using it to gather intelligence or cause disruption.

According to the agency, prolonged intrusions could ultimately result in the compromise of operational technology as well as the theft or exposure of corporate and personal data.

With inputs from agencies

new zealand warns china is countrys most persistent and capable state backed cyber threat

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