MEDIA RELEASE
8 June 2011

Privacy Commissioner Marie Shroff today called the Government's new cyber security strategy 'a welcome start towards protecting New Zealanders against online misuses of their personal information'.

'Increasingly, our economic success as well as our communication and leisure activities rely on us being able to trust that our personal information is secure online,' Marie Shroff said.

'You only have to look at some of the major internet privacy breaches in recent months - most recently the Sony hacking episodes - to see the damage that such breaches can cause both for the people and for the businesses involved.

'Our public attitude surveys tell us strongly that people are alarmed about the safety of their personal information online. For example, about 88% (72% very concerned) are worried about children's safety online, and over 90% (78% very concerned) of New Zealanders are concerned about unauthorised business use or misuse of their information. Also Unisys' security surveys clearly show how concerned people are about what is happening with their information online.

'The ICT industry in New Zealand, as elsewhere, is starting to take some real responsibility for improving security of personal information. But there is room for government action as well, in partnership with the industry, regulators such as my office, and expert non-government organisations like NetSafe.

'So I am very pleased to see the launch of the Government's cyber security strategy,' Marie Shroff said. 'I look forward to learning how implementation of the strategy will support existing efforts, such as those of my office, to provide people and businesses with information about how to protect themselves. I hope it will also better insulate our critical infrastructure, and the personal information it contains, against external attack.

'But we need to remain vigilant if we are to get the most from the opportunities that new technologies offer to us. Having a strategy does not guarantee safety or trust. It may be necessary to support the strategy by enhancing some of the legal protections available. For example, the Law Commission will soon report on whether New Zealand needs a mandatory breach notification law to better protect consumers, and whether the Privacy Act needs greater 'teeth' to cope with our twenty-first century online environment. I look forward to seeing these and other proposals as they emerge.'

UMR survey
Offshore ICT survey
Recent Unisys survey

ENDS

Media contact: Cathy Henry, Office of the Privacy Commissioner, 021 509 735