Government takes action against foreign attacks on ground-based space operations

Space Minister Judith Collins. Photo / RNZ

By RNZ

The Government says measures to stop malicious attempts to use ground-based space operations to harm the country will be in place from July.

This follows spy agency warnings that unnamed foreign actors have tried to interfere in national local infrastructure in the past five years.

“A new regulatory regime will start in July to deter foreign interference in New Zealand’s infrastructure that carry out tracking and control of spacecraft, space surveillance and the transfer of data to and from spacecraft,” Space Minister Judith Collins said in a statement on Monday.

Legislation to combat this would include regulations in July setting out a registration regime for ground-based operators.

A transition period would last until next March, when infrastructure operators would have to demonstrate due diligence and have security systems to get registered, or risk fines of $50,000 to $250,000,

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) will administer the registration regime.

“To date, these risks have been managed through non-regulatory measures, including relying on the goodwill of [ground-based] operators,” Collins said.

But these measures were no longer sufficient, she said

“The introduction of this new regime will serve as a deterrent. It sends a very clear message that we take our national security seriously, and we will act if we suspect that it is under threat.”

This would cover space surveillance and satellite communications, telemetry, tracking and control of spacecraft and geodetic infrastructure, but not consumer products such as satellite phones.

– RNZ