Cyber Incident Victim: Justice Minister Judith Collins
Date:
Aug 2014
Location:
New Zealand
Summary
A hacker known as RawShark leaked emails from conservative blogger Cameron Slater, exposing a campaign to undermine government officials, including efforts by Justice Minister Judith Collins to discredit agencies investigating financier Mark Hotchin. The revelations, detailed in the book *Dirty Politics*, implicated Collins in discussing the release of intelligence information via an expedited Official Information Act request and making disparaging remarks about political opponents. Following the leak and subsequent confrontation by the Prime Minister, Collins resigned, citing the allegations as distressing. The anonymous hacker claimed motivations that risked swift identification if operational security lapsed.
| CIA Posture | Motives | Tactics, Techniques & Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| Available to members | 3 motives | 2 techniques |
| Threat Actor | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1 actor | Available to members | Available to members |
Description
In September 2014, New Zealand Justice Minister Judith Collins resigned following the leak of hacked emails implicating her in a campaign to undermine government officials. The incident originated from a breach of conservative blogger Cameron Slater’s email account by a hacker using the alias RawShark, who disseminated the correspondence through the Twitter handle @whaledump. The leaked communications, detailed in the book *Dirty Politics*, revealed Slater’s WhaleOil blog allegedly functioned as a platform for government-backed smear campaigns. One key revelation involved financier Mark Hotchin paying Slater and blogger Cathy Odgers to publish articles attacking New Zealand’s Serious Fraud Office director Adam Feeley and the Financial Markets Authority during their investigations into Hotchin’s company. Odgers separately released emails to Fairfax Media that directly implicated Collins, prompting Prime Minister John Key to confront her over the allegations. Collins denounced the claims as “extremely distressing and disappointing” but resigned shortly afterward.
Further disclosures by RawShark, published by the *NZ Herald*, exposed Collins’ involvement in an expedited Official Information Act (OIA) request concerning intelligence documents shared with Slater. The emails included Collins’ remarks about Labour Party leader Phil Goff’s 2011 election prospects, where she speculated about forcing a by-election, stating, “perhaps he should just go now and then we can save money.” Slater referenced awaiting his OIA response to advance their strategy, to which Collins quipped, “Oh dear. All this open government thingy.” These exchanges drew Collins into a high-level inquiry regarding the improper release of sensitive information. RawShark maintained anonymity, identifying only as a “teenage hacktivist” and acknowledging unique operational vulnerabilities that could lead to identification if errors occurred. The incident triggered political scrutiny over government transparency and the misuse of official channels for partisan objectives.