New Zealand's cyber agency says China is the country's most persistent and capable state-backed cyber threat. Its annual report found suspected state-sponsored links in 86 of 369 incidents deemed to be of potential national significance in the year to June 2026.
Suspected state-sponsored activity was also linked to actors from Russia, Iran and North Korea. The incidents included activity targeting government agencies, health and education organisations, and IT managed-service providers. An August report by a New Zealand security agency said China was the only country New Zealand had detected conducting espionage “at scale”; Beijing has routinely denied allegations of Chinese cyber espionage.
The NCSC said geopolitical competition was increasingly playing out in the South Pacific and it was aware of state-backed espionage targeting governments and infrastructure there. It warned that intrusions can be hard to detect: actors may spend months or years surveying systems and establishing access before using it for intelligence or disruption, potentially compromising operational technology or exposing corporate and personal data.
