‘The new frontier of crime’ – more workplaces falling victim to cyber hacks

Leading New Zealand business executives gathered in Wellington yesterday to discuss ways to tackle the growing threat that is cybercrime in the workplace.

With 825,000 New Zealanders falling victim to cybercrime in the past 12 months, NZ Tech's Graeme Muller says it's more "rampant" than ever.
"I think of it like the new frontier of crime," says the chief executive.

Business executives gathered in Wellington to discuss how social media interactions could leave your employer exposed to cyber-crime.

"In the old days they'd sit outside in the van and watch the coming and goings of the warehouse... Now they convince you that you're their friend and you click a link, they put some code in and then they watch your business."

Recent research shows around 60 per cent of social media users will accept a friend request from someone they don't even know, meaning education is critical, according to NZX Chief Operating Officer Mandy Simpson.

"We're doing a lot of work around making sure that all of our staff are essentially providing that front line for us," she says.

But Vodafone's head of security says it's hard for businesses to find cyber security staff to hold the line, with a major shortage of skilled workers.

"The standard view of security has always been the hacker in the basement with the hood on, coding away," says Colin James.

"That's not what security is... but getting people to understand that is very, very difficult."

Making passwords difficult and changing it often are some of the simple ways tech users have been told to keep information away from prying eyes.

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