Third country joins UK and US in accusing China of espionage hacks as coordinated pressure on Beijing grows

Hong Kong CNN —

New Zealand has joined the United States and the United Kingdom in accusing China of launching “malicious” cyberattacks through state-backed hackers, as Beijing comes under growing scrutiny in a big election year for democracies around the world.

Hackers linked to the Chinese government attacked the New Zealand parliament in 2021, Security Minister Judith Collins said Tuesday, marking the first time the country has publicly attributed cyberattacks on its government systems to China.

The accusation comes a day after the US and the UK announced a set of criminal charges and sanctions against seven Chinese hackers for allegedly conducting sweeping attacks on behalf of China’s civilian intelligence agency.

The yearslong campaign allegedly targeted American officials, senators, journalists and companies – including Pentagon contractors – as well as British parliamentarians, the UK’s election watchdog and members of the European Parliament, affecting millions of people.

The Chinese embassy in London dismissed the claims as “completely unfounded” and “malicious slander,” calling the sanctions “outright political manipulation.”

“China is a major victim of cyberattacks. We have firmly fought and stopped all kinds of malicious cyber activities in accordance with the law, and have never encouraged, supported or condoned cyberattacks,” the embassy said, reiterating Beijing’s long-held stance on the matter.

But the accusation from a third member of the so-called Five Eyes alliance shows key Western democracies are now taking a more concerted – and coordinated – stand against what they view as unacceptable levels of hacking and espionage by Beijing.

New Zealand’s cybersecurity authorities “completed a robust