The cyber attack on New Zealand right now is being attributed to cyber criminals, b-u-t there are also some pretty compelling arguments to suggest that this is a state actor pretending to be a cyber criminal and that state actor is China.
The GCSB will be tracing the original email demand for bitcoin and that might give some insight, but if it is a State actor, they won’t find anything.
The sheer size of the attack is what suggests it is a State actor as opposed to a cyber gang and the escalating tensions with China make them the obvious candidate for the attack…
China’s ‘coercive diplomacy’ sharply escalating, New Zealand targeted – report
The Chinese Government has escalated its use of “coercive diplomacy” over the last two years, with New Zealand among its targets, according to a new report by an Australian think tank.
…China was also behind a vast cyber attack on Australia recently.
With tensions ratcheting up between America and China in the South China Sea, China testing our cyber security with a prolonged attack is exactly the type of tactics employed before a conflict turns hot.
The GCSB seem to be asleep at the wheel.
Let’s hope this is really just a criminal organisation, but it would be naive in the extreme to exempt China from suspicion and understand that what we are seeing is a sign of a much larger conflict yet to play out.
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I can’t see what China would have to gain by cyber attacking our sharemarket unless they made it obvious to the NZ government that it was them as a form of a threat.
However, the United States and Israel have a history of destabilising countries ahead of their elections in order to give their preferred candidate/party an edge. Who would the US and Israel prefer to have as the government of NZ – National and NZ First, I would think
Naive
May be Trump wanted to teach NZ a lesson for making US looks bad in its own COVID response, or for enticing mass capital flight from rich Americans seeking a safe haven here…
Martyn your assumptions have little valid basis.
Knocking China without reason seems a bit beneath your style.
There also could be dozens of other candidates.
The stock market only affects a narrow sector of investing Kiwis but is the capitalist corporate thermometer.
So its closed over the week end for two days and now a few mornings as well. Not a big deal.
NZ siding with the USA sponsoring unrest in Hong Kong is a much bigger deal.
New Zealand’s defence posture is more than the NZX. The people pay protection money for this very expensive terms of trade just to maintain our lifestyles. So we must at least match there veracity.
Australia Spending Nearly $1 Billion on Cyberdefense as China Tensions Rise
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/30/world/australia/cyber-defense-china-hacking.html
“SYDNEY, Australia — Confronting a surge of cyberattacks attributed to the Chinese government, Australia moved to bolster its defenses on Tuesday, promising to recruit at least 500 cyberspies and build on its ability to take the battle overseas.
The investment of 1.35 billion Australian dollars ($930 million) over the next decade is the largest the country has ever made in cyberweapons and defenses.
It follows what Prime Minister Scott Morrison has described as a sharp increase in the frequency, scale and sophistication of online attacks — and, more broadly, a steady deterioration in relations between Australia and China.
“The federal government’s top priority is protecting our nation’s economy, national security and sovereignty,” Mr. Morrison said Tuesday. “Malicious cyberactivity undermines that.”
The new initiative points to growing frustration in Australia with what current and former intelligence officials have described as a relentless, increasingly aggressive campaign by China to spy on, disrupt and threaten the country’s government, vital infrastructure and most important industries…
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