Sri Lanka, March 28 -- New Zealand said Tuesday a Chinese state-sponsored hacking operation targeted New Zealand's parliament in 2021, an allegation that came a day after the United States and Britain took actions in response to their own attacks by China-backed hacking groups.

New Zealand's Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) said it linked malicious cyber activity against the country's parliament to the group Advanced Persistent Threat 40, which the GCSB said is linked to China's Ministry of State Security.

"The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable," Minister Responsible for the GCSB Judith Collins said in a statement.

China's Embassy i...