Cryptopia customer tried to bribe court registrar for information about company's case
New Zealand-based company Cryptopia was allegedly hacked in January 2019, leading to the loss
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RNZ News
2 minutes ago
- RNZ News
FBI director Kash Patel on Kiwi soil
Photo: supplied Was it a big deal or not? The head of the FBI, Director Kash Patel, was sprung by a Herald journalist lurking in the basement of the Beehive. His appearance came after another reporter twigged that the FBI's plane was sitting on the tarmac at Wellington airport. The avalanche of mumbling 'no comment' from MPs was quickly followed by a release from the US Embassy about exactly why such an exciting guest was here - the FBI hanging its shingle out in the Capital. "Kash Patel being spotted in the Beehive basement felt like the start of a good spy movie," says RNZ political reporter Anneke Smith. But the FBI has long had a presence in New Zealand, and a former spy spoken to by The Detail says it's no big deal. So why did we get so excited about it? Maybe because everyone loves it when a secret gets out. Today on The Detail , Smith tells us how the story unravelled, and a Senior Lecturer in Security Studies at Massey University, Dr Rhys Ball, questions the significance of the event. Patel himself said - through a carefully curated media package and video that was rigged to look like a press conference, though it wasn't - that it was all about transnational crime including countering the narcotics trade, cybercrime, and " countering the CCP ", the Chinese Communist Party. The FBI was "opening up our law enforcement attaché office here in Wellington," he said, to show "the world that the FBI is actually prioritising a permanent presence across all Five Eyes countries, and here in New Zealand we had not had that until this historic moment". The China comment was a very different line to what the New Zealand government took, Smith says. Ministers later that day were reiterating that it was all about cracking down on crime in the Indo-Pacific. Foreign Minister Winston Peters said the issue of China had not come up in their meeting. "Two very different tacks I think taken from New Zealand and the US," says Smith, "the US being quite bolshie in terms of framing this up with the wider context in terms of the geo-political contest in the Indo-Pacific region." China called the FBI director's statements "groundless assertions" and described his comments as part of a "Cold War mentality". And that's why our politicians played that aspect of this visit down. "New Zealand(ers) will be well aware we have an important trade relationship with China, they're our biggest trading partner, they're about a third of our exports, a lot of meat and dairy go to China so a really significant trading relationship there," says Smith. "We walk very much through the centre line of a lot of hefty controversial subjects on that because of our trading relationship. "The US, on the other hand, doesn't hold back." Kash Patel is a controversial figure and a Trump loyalist, who's a conspiracy theorist, supporter of the rioters on the Capitol, an anti-vaxxer and has been accused of perjury. "I don't think any of that came up during his visit to New Zealand last week," says Smith. "That was all about opening the office and signalling it's here in the Indo-Pacific." Dr Rhys Ball says the move isn't really a big deal. "It's part of the usual relationship or engagement that intelligence and security agencies have," he says. "Particularly in the Five Eyes community. The legal attaché role within the FBI is a simple liaison office role, and there's been engagement with Bureau legal attaches for a long time." He says there are New Zealand police liaison agents in other countries around the world, and that's usually a quid-pro-quo situation. The difference now is that where the legal attaché in Canberra used to be responsible for New Zealand, that person is now in Wellington. "One perhaps can speculate that particular role for the Canberra Legat office has got quite big now and the business that needs to be discussed has expanded to the point where the Bureau, and Wellington, feel the need for a permanent presence in Wellington," says Ball. He says cooperation between various international law enforcement agencies has increased in the last five to 10 years, particularly between the United States, Australia and New Zealand. "Things are picking up to the point where there's benefit in a permanent presence in Wellington." Check out how to listen to and follow The Detail here . You can also stay up-to-date by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter .
Scoop
2 hours ago
- Scoop
Rotorua Lawyer Warns MBIE Mediation Backlog Is Costing Businesses
A more than two-month delay for Government mediation services is costing businesses time and productivity as they wait to resolve employment issues, a Rotorua-based specialist employment lawyer says. Dealing with an employment issue can be a costly and time-consuming exercise for both a business and staff member, but not dealing with it effectively and efficiently could cost both parties even more, workplace law barrister, Michelle Urquhart, says. This is what local businesses are facing with the current nine-week wait for the Ministry for Business Innovation and Employment's (MBIE) free mediation service. 'Having to wait more than two months for mediation – which is meant to be an early intervention service – is far from ideal in the current economic environment,' Mrs Urquhart says. 'Workplace issues can do a great deal of damage to a public or private organisation, and they don't tend to fix themselves. A dispute will initially impact the people directly involved, but it doesn't take long for it to start impacting wider teams, productivity, morale and ultimately, the bottom line. 'Getting on top of the concern early, having calm conversations, and developing a resolution plan that works for everyone is critical to moving forward before too much damage is done. Mediation is often key to the success of this.' Mrs Urquhart says mediation is an invaluable tool to help resolve disputes without the stress, time or cost of an expensive legal process. It also helps build a stronger business, with better communication and sustainable outcomes. She says the current delays at MBIE for mediation mean increasing numbers of businesses are turning to independent specialists – or are not dealing with the issue at all. 'The second option is a lose-lose for both parties. In the current employment environment, no one wants to be looking for a new job. For an employer, it can cost up to 1.5 times a person's salary to replace them, including recruitment, onboarding and lost productivity. Mrs Urquhart says businesses looking for external mediation support should look for someone with proven experience, relevant qualifications and professional membership with either the Arbitrators' and Mediators' Institute of New Zealand or the Resolution Institute. 'Industry membership means the adviser has the appropriate qualifications and experience to deliver mediation, while also working under an industry code of ethics. 'This is important, as it gives employees and organisations a level of reassurance they're working with someone who is qualified to help get them on the right track. In a stressful and emotional situation, this benchmark is something people should be looking for.' And her biggest piece of advice for either an employee or employer? 'Don't wait. Start addressing the issue sooner rather than later and get some help to ensure it's done right the first time.'
Scoop
6 hours ago
- Scoop
Gartner's Khurram Shahzad on satellite broadband
Set to go mainstream Leo satellite broadband has been popular with New Zealanders in remote areas since it first arrived four years ago. A year ago Download Weekly reported: ' New Zealand has the highest number of satellite connections per person in the OECD '. Melbourne-based Gartner director analyst Khurram Shahzad says the technology will soon break out of its rural niche and become mainstream. He says, 'Up until three years ago, there were only around 3000 satellites in the sky. But in the last three years we have reached around 11,000. At this pace, we are on track to exceed 40,000 satellites in the next three years. It means satellite communication will become more mainstream.' Reusable rockets change the economics One of the drivers is that, thanks to reusable rockets, the cost of satellite launches has dropped to the point where it is no longer a barrier to entry. Shahzad says Starlink has the first mover advantage and has the largest constellation, but it is not the only player. There are new companies focused on different markets like services for IoT or direct to mobile. Satellites have long been the obvious choice in places where there is no terrestrial connectivity. Shahzad says this will expand so that the technology will complement existing services and, in some cases, replace them. Better quality for rural users 'There are still a lot of areas where broadband quality is not good enough, or the infrastructure does not provide high-speed broadband. Leos (Low Earth Orbit satellites) can provide better speeds in those instances. 'And there are businesses who want a backup or a fallback. So if there is an outage, they still have business continuity.' Another area where satellites are likely to dominate is with connected or autonomous vehicles. Shahzad says new electric vehicles now come with embedded satellite connectivity, to the point where some car manufacturers are launching their own satellites. The technology is also being used where people work at a temporary location such as a construction site. And then there are the maritime and aviation applications, neither of these are well served by existing networks. Competition coming Amazon's arrival will sharpen market competition. Shahzad says we can expect to see five or six major players but there will be more. 'By our last count, there are almost 20 providers in this space who are all building their own constellations.' The bottleneck for the industry is finding launch slots, which is where SpaceX and Starlink have another advantage. Many of the would be competitors will use SpaceX for launches. 'Once this bottleneck is overcome, we can expect to see tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of satellites in the sky. He says experts estimate the maximum number could be around a million.' Challenges remain Despite cheaper launches, the technology has one big disadvantage over terrestrial networks: satellites have a limited life span. 'It's around five years for the earlier versions. Starlink says the new satellites last eight to 10 years, perhaps. But even then, they need to replenish those satellites quite often. It also means that there is potential of a lot of space debris. And that is one area which is still a little grey.' Another grey area is spectrum. Satellite operators typically don't buy spectrum and there are multiple competing and conflicting standards around the world. Direct to mobile When it comes to direct to mobile services there are some satellite operators who use the spectrum allocated to their mobile network operator partners. That will make newer satellite operators dependent on their partners. Because spectrum is allocated on a country by country basis, and most MNOs are based in a single country, satellite operators will have to manage a patchwork of standards. Shahzad says there are issues managing interoperability and handover: 'How do you manage interference between the two? How do you manage the handover, and do you want to carry on the session from one network to the other—and how do you bring it back?' This analysis was originally posted in the August 1, 2025 edition of Download Weekly newsletter and can now be found at Gartner's Khurram Shahzad on satellite market.
