An anonymous Russian group is claiming to be behind the hacking of Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully's email account.
A member of the group, which claims to be a collective called 'The Comrades' that hacks for money, said the Minister's private email account was hacked last year as part of an international hunt for military secrets, TV3 reported tonight.
It was previously believed that a group known as Anonymous was behind the hack.
New Zealand Government security was "very easy to bypass", a member of The Comrades told the channel.
Last week John Key said the Minister was aware there was lower security as a result of using private email but he had "managed that situation."
