New Zealand spy agency vows increased oversight after hosting foreign intelligence system

Wellington: A New Zealand spy agency has accepted recommendations for increased oversight after an inquiry found it had hosted a foreign intelligence-collection system for years without telling the government.

The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS), which oversees the country’s spy agencies, reported Thursday that the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) had hosted a signals intelligence system deployed by a foreign agency and took part in a programme related to that system.

The IGIS report said the bureau had agreed to host the system without gaining governmental approval or informing it, and that senior leadership lost track of the programme.

After the IGIS inquiry, the GCSB accepted the agency's recommendations to compile a register of collection or analysis capabilities in New Zealand that are operated by foreign partners; audit its systems, including any foreign partner capabilities; review and monitor international agreements; and establish a process that allows IGIS to review any international agreements and arrangements entered into.

Details of the country and the capability are secret, although the report says it produced intelligence that could find remote targets. New Zealand is a member of the Five Eyes intelligence grouping, which includes Australia, the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

The report notes that the system ran from 2013 until 2020 and that after it was installed, “GCSB staff and the Bureau’s legal team lost sight of the capability and its operation”.

GCSB Director-General Andrew Clark said that since joining the bureau five months ago, he had looked carefully at how it fulfilled its requirements in terms of compliance, relevant legislation, human rights and oversight.

"It is important that we have effective processes in place that enable us to do our job in accordance with all our obligations," Clark said. "We are continually looking to improve how we work."