Government sets cyber security priorities with $8M investment
The New Zealand government updated its cyber security strategy singling out five areas for priority attention. In the recent budget the government earmarked $8 million that will be spent over the next four years implementing the strategy.
Announcing the strategy Communications Minister Kris Faafoi says the government aims to champion a "free, open, secure internet".
He says partnerships will play an important role: “because neither government nor the private sector can do it alone. We have to work together to keep individuals, businesses, community organisations and the private sector to thrive online.”
The priorities are:
- Cyber security aware and active citizens
- Strong and capable cyber security workforce and ecosystem
- Resilient and responsive New Zealand
- Proactively tackle cybercrime
- Internationally active
Faafoi says raising awareness means "building a culture in which people can operate securely online and know what to do if something goes wrong.”
We need more experts
Bolstering the workforce and ecosystem will see the government work to increase the cyber security experts. This means supporting and expanding New Zealand's cyber security sector. There are also plans to encourage the development of an academic research community.
Resilience is about being moving on from a focus on infrastructure towards being able to respond immediately to incidents.
Faafoi says the government will continue to tackle crime. This includes consideration of accession to the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime (the Budapest Convention).
He says: "We will also continue to work with others on issues related to encryption: ensuring that law enforcement can access the information it needs while balancing the rights of New Zealanders to protect their privacy and security.”
That is international in scope, yet the updated strategy plans to take this further. Faafoi says New Zealand "will support the international rules-based order and promote peace and stability in cyberspace and ecosystem.”
Vocus restructures NZ operation as stand-alone business
Vocus Group has reorganised the trans-Tasman telco's structure to run the New Zealand operation as a stand-alone business. It has also done the same with its Australian retail arm.
Meanwhile the company's networks division becomes the main focus. Each unit will publish its own financial results from next year. While these moves pave the way for an easier future sale of the assets, Vocus says this was not the motivation for the reorganisation . It says the new structure will leave the components more nimble.
One Technology emerges from nine managed service providers
Nine managed service providers have merged to form One Technology. The business wraps together Horizon Pacific, Highfield Solutions, Mint Technology, One Communications, Strategic IT, Swift Technology, The Computer Centre, Technologix, and Wasp.
The new business aims to bridge the gap between information technology and broadband services. It will be based in Napier and
counts Chorus, Unison, Enable, Northpower, Ultrafast Fibre and Kordia as its partners.
US relaxes Huawei stance, NZ stands firm
RNZ reports that New Zealand is unlikely to change its assessment of the Huawei security risk in the light of moves by the US to soften restrictions. The story quotes Andrew Little, the minister responsible for the GCSB, who says New Zealand's regulations were neutral as to country and all applications were assessed on a case-by-case basis.