Watchdog: New Zealand spied for years on Pacific neighbors

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — A watchdog office said Wednesday that New Zealand spied for years on its South Pacific neighbors and passed collected information to the U.S. and other allies.

But the watchdog overseeing New Zealand’s spy agencies did not recommend any changes after concluding the spy agency, which collected the data, was acting within the law.

The report released by Cheryl Gwyn, the inspector-general of intelligence and security, found that the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) collected bulk data from satellites from South Pacific countries between 2009 and 2015.

Gwyn found that some of that data was shared with spy agencies from New Zealand’s “Five Eyes” allies: the U.S., Canada, Britain and Australia.

The inspector-general’s report was prompted by documents leaked by former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, which indicated the GCSB was collecting data in the South Pacific.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/watchdog-new-zealand-spied-for-years-on-pacific-neighbors/2018/07/03/65a65ee2-7f35-11e8-a63f-7b5d2aba7ac5_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.a360ed07dd80