North Korean Cyber 'tunneling' In New Zealand

The NZ Government's electronic security services  are investigating whether North Koreans are "tunnelling in" to New Zealand computer servers as a back door link to the Internet.

Foreign Minister Gerry Brownlee recently confirmed the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) was looking into the claims made in a report by security and intelligence firm Recorded Future. The GCSB was looking at all aspects raised in the article to check if they were true.

The report said there were "large and active presences" of North Koreans in seven countries; India, New Zealand, Malaysia, Nepal, Kenya, Mozambique and Indonesia; as well in as China.

"Our source revealed not only above-average levels of activity to and from these nations, but to many local resources, news outlets, and governments, which was uncharacteristic of North Korean activity in other nations," the report said.

Its analysis found the limited number of North Korean leaders and ruling elite with access to the Internet were actively engaged in Western and popular social media and regularly read the news and used online streaming, gaming and other services.

There were four million mobile devices in North Korea and Facebook was the most widely used social networking site for North Koreans, the report said.

It said attempts to isolate the reclusive nation's elites and leaders were failing.

Brownlee suggested any activity through New Zealand may not necessarily be sinister and that it could be that North Koreans, who could not access the Internet and facing tough state controls, were using devices such as cellphones to look at what was going on in the rest of the world.

"If you think about North Korea a very isolated country so if there are North Koreans who are finding a way to get in contact with the outside world that's a good thing. If it's the elites keeping it all to themselves, it just further reinforces how corrupt that regime is."

He dismissed concerns about links between North Korea and China and the widespread use of Huawei equipment here.

"I think it's too far gone. If you went around this gathering of people here, you'd find any number who might be holding Huawei products, so I don't think it's worth getting too strung up about that."

Brownlee said he was not concerned about the perception in other countries, such as the United States, which knew New Zealand well enough to know it was not facilitating this activity.

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