KEY POINTS:
Prime Minister Helen Clark says no classified information has been stolen by foreign spies hacking into government computers.
Her assurance follows Security Intelligence Service (SIS) head Warren Tucker revealing that foreign governments have hacked into New Zealand Government computer systems.
Mr Tucker said government departments' websites had been
attacked, information had been stolen and hard-to-detect software had been installed that could be used to take control of computer systems, the Dominion Post reported today.
He said there was evidence foreign governments were responsible for the attacks and while he did not name countries, he referred to comments by Canada's security service about Chinese spying activities.
But Miss Clark today moved to quell fears foreign spies had successfully made off with classified data.
"The assurance I've been given by intelligence agencies is that no classified information has been at risk at all," she told reporters.
"Now we have very smart people to provide protection every time an attack is tried. Obviously we learn from that. What I can stress is that absolutely no classified information has ever been penetrated by these attacks."
Miss Clark said she knew which governments were involved, but she would not name them.
The issue had not been taken up with the countries in question.
"That's not the way intelligence matters are handled."
Miss Clark said several governments had recently experienced cyber attacks on their networks.
"It's not something unique to us, it's something that every country is experiencing.
The Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) was the key agency charged with protecting government information and Miss Clark said she had full confidence in its ability to brief and update departments about risks.
One change that had been made was that cellphones were no longer allowed in high-level government meetings, and even in some buildings, as they could be used to penetrate security systems.
Last week China was accused of hacking into German government systems and the Pentagon's computer systems in the United States.
Russia and China have also been implicated in attacks on the British parliament's computer system.
Mr Tucker said the SIS and GCSB had responded to the attacks by increasing their security awareness campaign.
In some cases, departments had not even realised their computer systems had been breached.
Sensitive information had been stolen and attempts had been made to gain access to classified information.
In one attack, a department had been penetrated and a programme had been inserted to generate bogus but genuine looking emails.
Mr Tucker said the terrorist threat to New Zealand was low but rising. This reflected overseas concerns about Islamic extremists and the radicalisation of some communities.
The SIS has also moved to boost its security vetting of people entering New Zealand and to speed up security clearance processes for people handling sensitive government information.
This was in part due to a scandal last year when a Beehive messenger leaked a Cabinet paper about the Government's plan to open Telecom to competition.
Mr Tucker it was important for the SIS to be seen as an integral part of the machinery of government, and that its work was seen as necessary and important and that the service was trusted.
- NZPA
