NZ PM 'irresponsible' in linking China to cyber attack

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key linked China to a hacking attack on a government research institution supercomputer after being advised against speculating on the source of the attack, an opposition political party claimed Thursday, citing official papers.

The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) revealed on May 26 that its supercomputer, one of the most powerful in the world for environmental research, was hacked by an unknown cyber intruder earlier that month.

The same day, Key announced that the hacking attempt had come from a Chinese IP (Internet protocol) address, but he added that hackers often masked their true location by hiding behind other IP addresses.

However, Labor Party associate security and intelligence spokesperson Grant Robertson said Thursday that papers just released under the Official Information Act showed that on May 24 the Government Communications Security Bureau, the electronic spy agency, advised Key that it would be "very unhelpful and premature to speculate where any potential threat is from."

"John Key has been utterly inconsistent with what information he is prepared to release on security intelligence matters. In situations where New Zealanders would expect him to be transparent he has been evasive, and now when he has specific advice not to speculate, he goes ahead and does so," Robertson said in a statement.

"It seems the prime minister is prepared to treat security and intelligence matters purely as a political tool. If he is under pressure about another issue he seems happy to give out information on security matters as a diversion. This is extremely irresponsible."

NIWA issued a statement in May saying the hacking bid was unsuccessful as the supercomputer was immediately taken offline and tested, before resuming normal operations shortly after.

The National Cyber Security Center, part of the Government Communications Security Bureau, had been kept fully informed throughout the process, it said.

The supercomputer was used to run scientific models and services and no sensitive personal or client information was stored on it.