New Zealand Deploys Spy Agency as Hackers Hit Stock Market

(Bloomberg) — New Zealand called in its spy agency and activated security crisis plans to help defend the stock exchange from overseas attack, after hackers disrupted the market for a fourth straight day.

“We as a government are treating this very seriously,” Finance Minister Grant Robertson said Friday, adding agencies would coordinate to deal with the threat. “There are limits to what I can say today about the action the government is taking behind the scenes due to significant security considerations.”

The NZ$204 billion ($135 billion) stock market has been the target of distributed-denial-of-service attacks that have overwhelmed its website and forced trading halts since Tuesday. The national security plan is typically triggered when a crisis threatens New Zealand’s interests or international reputation.