New Zealand’s spy agencies have joined with Five Eyes partners to warn Kiwi businesses about the risk of technology theft by foreign spies.
The Security Intelligence Service and Government Communications Security Bureau published new “secure innovation” advice for businesses on Tuesday, part of a joint effort with partner organisations in Australia, Canada, United Kingdom and United States to warn companies of what is broadly called “economic espionage”.
“Our innovative breakthroughs can make us a target and increasingly we are seeing a range of state and criminal actors seeking to gain commercial, technological, or dual-use military advantage off the back of our hard work,” said Intelligence Agencies Minister Judith Collins, in an accompanying statement.
The guidance for businesses developing new technology emerged from a summit held a year ago in Palo Alto, California, where the heads of Five Eyes intelligence agencies made a joint public appearance for the first time to discuss the threat to emerging technologies in each of their countries.
New Zealand’s intelligence agencies have warned in recent years of the growing risk of espionage to businesses, among other sectors, as foreign states seek to steal technology or intellectual property -- and not just that which has a potential military purpose -- for the benefit of their own industries and economies.
Collins said the technology sector was New Zealand’s third-largest exporter, amounting to $10.7 billion in goods and services exports and contributing $23b to GDP.
“Our security intelligence agencies and their partners across the Five Eyes are being more open about the nature of the threats we are facing,” she said.
“Security is not a constraint on innovation. Indeed, if built in from the start, security both protects hard-earned intellectual property and increases the value of products and services.”
SIS director-general Andrew Hampton said, in a statement on Tuesday, that a small number of foreign states were conducting such espionage in New Zealand, through both in-person and cyber means.
“The idea is that security becomes built into everyday business practices right fro the start in a way that doesn’t inhibit innovation, but rather supports a start-up to be more robust, resilient, and ultimately more attractive to investors and customers,” Hampton said.
The advice asks that businesses “know the threats” and secure their business environment, products, partnerships, and growth through various means, including cybersecurity, scrutinising job applicants and measures taken when travelling overseas.
Among threats businesses face, according to the advice, were “state actors” seeking to expedite their technological capability, undermine competitive advantage, repress their own people, damage a business’s reputation, or gain competitive advantage. Other threats included competitors seeking advantage, or criminals wanting to profit from a business’s weak security.
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