New Zealand in the Crosshairs of US Intelligence Leak Investigation

It appears New Zealand is caught up in the investigation of a leak of classified documents that contain the US’s assessment of Israeli plans to attack Iran.

National security communications adviser John Kirby speaks during a daily press briefing at the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House, in Washington, on July 31, 2024. Alex Wong/Getty Images

New Zealand has been implicated in the leak of classified documents which outline the United States’ assessment of Israel’s plan to attack Iran. According to White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, President Joe Biden is “deeply concerned” about the leak.

One of the documents says it was compiled by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), while the other appears to have originated from the National Security Agency (NSA).

The two documents, marked “top secret,” were shared within the Five Eyes intelligence alliance of the United States, Britain, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. They include the acronym FGI, standing for Foreign Government Intelligence.

They were published on an Iranian-aligned Telegram account called “Middle East Spectator” last week, but Kirby said there was no “indication” that any additional documents will “[find] their way into the public domain.”

New Zealand has recently been the victim of several successful hacks by foreign powers. The Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB), the country’s intelligence agency, recently suffered a $7 million (US$4.7 million) budget cut.

Iran has a large and sophisticated cyber-warfare capability, so the possibility of a hostile hack is being investigated by U.S. intelligence agencies and the FBI.

NZ’s Intelligence Personnel Numbers Have Increased

Asked about the Israel-Iran breach, the GCSB and its Minister Judith Collins both said they did not comment on intelligence matters.

However, the GCSB did point out that the number of people employed across that agency and the Security Intelligence Service (SIS) is actually slightly higher this year.

“Information security is always a fundamental priority for the intelligence agencies,” it said.

The leak potentially threatens New Zealand’s role in several new agreements, including the United States relaxing rules around selling space technology to close allies, and NGA collaborating more with military forces on ground targeting.

However, dual-use military and civilian technology has been carried in rockets launched from New Zealand by private firm Rocket Lab.

A U.S. firm that sells satellite imagery to the governments of America and Ukraine to monitor the Ukrainian war sent up a payload in August.

New Zealand has recently helped the U.S. Space Force with satellite tracking, setting up a U.S.-funded NZ Defence Force hub in Auckland last year and joining Operation Olympic Defender last month.

The NGA provides both combat support and core intelligence. It plays a major role in the allied geospatial intelligence system (ASG), which includes GEOINT New Zealand, a team made up of NZ Defence Force and intelligence agency personnel.