No such thing as a quiet time for cyber security

The number of cyber incidents reported to CERT NZ has remained constant from the first to second quarter of the year. But this doesn’t mean it was quiet.

CERT NZ received a total of 2,001 incident reports between April and June this year, a decrease of 14% since last quarter. However, a recent spate of targeted phone-spoofing scams, along with a rise in romance scams, has increased the impact of financial loss.

Direct financial loss was $3.9 million, a slight increase from last quarter. Of those who reported a loss, 32% lost more than $1,000.

CERT NZ has been working alongside telecommunication providers, financial institutions and other organisations and agencies, such as the Department of Internal Affairs, to combat these scams.

CERT NZ Director Rob Pope said collaboration and knowledge sharing is important for helping New Zealanders better protect themselves and be more secure online.

'Collaborating meant we could better understand the technology behind the scams and how to help stop them, as well as developing clear and consistent advice for banking customers,' Pope said.

'The more information and insights we have, the stronger our advice and mitigations are.'

While cyber security is often seen as a technological problem, people are a vital part of being cyber resilient.

'By reporting cyber security incidents to CERT NZ, New Zealanders are helping others from being impacted by giving us the indicators and understanding of how these attackers are working,' said Pope. 'This means we can work collectively with our partner organisations to reduce these harms and raise awareness of cyber security threats.'

This quarter’s Cyber Security Insights and Data Landscape reports contain information about the scams and threats facing New Zealanders online. These range from technical advice on internet-exposed services, to human-level guidance on how to tell if a phone call is legitimate or not.

'Being a cyber-resilient Aotearoa isn’t just about tech solutions, it’s about making sure everyone has the basic tools at their disposal to be secure online,' Pope said.