SUVA, Fiji — Hackers with links to China compromised a regional organisation based in Suva between July and August, the U.S. Embassy in Fiji said, warning that Pacific governments and telecom networks are also being targeted, The Straits Times, The Fiji Times and RNZ Pacific reported.
“Hackers with links to China maintained access to the organisation’s network over several days,” the embassy said in a Facebook statement that did not name the organisation. Fiji’s policing and communications minister, Ioane Naivalurua, said police were investigating and urged governments and firms to harden digital systems.
China’s foreign ministry said it was unaware of the case, opposed hacking, and also opposed “using cybersecurity issues to smear China,” spokesperson Mao Ning told a briefing, according to The Straits Times (AFP). The Pacific Islands Forum said its secretariat was not the body that was hacked but stressed that digital security is tied to economic resilience and sovereignty.
Fiji is emerging as a Pacific telecom hub as Google expands subsea cables linking Guam, Australia, French Polynesia and the U.S. mainland via Suva. The embassy also pointed to an August FBI case against China-linked QTFY hackers who targeted U.S. critical infrastructure, saying that action “matters directly for the Pacific.” Fiji had separately asked Washington for evidence of a related corruption claim involving a Chinese state employee in Suva.
Sources: The Straits Times (AFP), The Fiji Times, RNZ Pacific
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