A word of caution from the Five Eyes leaders, as they detail fears of cyber espionage.

The head of MI5 revealed more than 20,000 Brits have been approached covertly online by Chinese spies.

Australia also recently deported a Chinese national recruited to spy on a research institution.

Massey University security expert John Battersby says New Zealand has reason to be concerned, as the nation can be naïve about potential threats. 

"The Chinese are definitely doing it, among a range of others. And a number of countries are doing it in order to get security secrets- but they're also looking for R&D tech secrets."

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