Cyber Smart Week, 14-18 October 2019

MAS protects what matters most to our Members, and with more of our lives moving online, cybersecurity is more important than ever.

That’s why we’re proud to support Cyber Smart Week (14-18 October) – an initiative organised by the New Zealand Government’s cybersecurity agency CERT NZ.

Cyber threats have been around for decades but they’re increasing in frequency and impact. In Q2 of 2019, CERT NZ received reports of almost 1,200 cyber incidents – a 21% increase on Q1 2019. Of those 1,200 incidents, 59% of the reports related to incidents targeting individuals.

The most common incident reported was some sort of scam or fraud, followed by phishing and credential harvesting attacks, with unauthorised access incidents coming in third.

It can be difficult to quantify the full impact of these incidents but CERT NZ believes they caused around $6.5m in direct financial loss in Q2 2019, up from $2.2m in the same period last year.

Cyber Smart Week is a great time to check your online security and make sure you’re taking some simple steps to keep yourself, your family, and your business safe online.

1. Change your passwords regularly

Put simply, you need strong passwords and you need to change them regularly. It might be convenient to use “password” for everything but you’re putting yourself at severe risk. You should aim to change your passwords every few months, and it’s a good idea to use a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols in your password. As far as remembering your passwords, there are various password managers that will help you keep track of everything.

2. Make sure you stay on top of all the relevant software updates

Make sure you keep up-to-date with any software updates that are issued for your phone, computer or IT system. Not only do those updates improve the usability of your system, but they also contain regular security upgrades to patch any flaws.

3. Use two-factor authentication

Two-factor authentication (2FA) is a way of double-checking someone is who they say they are when they try to login to a system. So, as well as providing their username and password, they will often be asked to enter a special code that is texted to their phone. You can add 2FA to all sorts of things but it’s essential on systems like email or accounting software.

These are a few basic tips to get you started but cybersecurity is something you need to take seriously and, if you own a business, it may be worth seeking professional advice. For more general information on cybersecurity, check out the resources at www.cert.govt.nz.

If you’re a business owner and you’re worried about what might happen if you suffer a cyberattack, you might also want to think about cyber insurance. Find out more.