Technology experts say the biggest barriers to cybersecurity are often complacency and a lack of basic protections.
New Zealanders lose tens of millions of dollars each year to cybercrime. Technologists describe how some losses can be avoided and that we can avoid up to 80 per cent of cyber attacks by taking simple steps.
NZTech CEO Graeme Muller said in an interview with RNZ that some of these cyber attacks are big and don’t seem to have much to do with us personally. Some people think it won’t happen to us, and it does. The biggest obstacles to cybersecurity are often complacency and a lack of basic protections. Computer systems are very good at protecting themselves, and vulnerabilities usually originate from themselves.
One of the most important ways to be protected from cyber attacks is to set up very complex passwords, he said.
“Most of us set passwords that are too simple and rarely change them.” Some people worry that there are too many passwords to keep and that complex passwords are not easy to remember, Muller said, adding that there are actually special tools now called password safes that allow people to access all their passwords simply by remembering how to get into the safe.
“There is a concern that if all the passwords are put together, then if the bad guys get in they can get all the passwords,” Muller said. “Password safes are very secure and they are provided by professional companies such as Microsoft, Google, etc. They are encrypted. And they are encrypted.”
Another easy way is to enable double authentication (if available), such as a login password plus cell phone text verification.
His third suggestion is to enable automatic software updates.
“Large computer companies like Microsoft, Apple are always looking for and stopping all vulnerabilities, while criminals are looking for new ones. So set it up on your phone and computer so that the system can patch the vulnerabilities on its own.”
Muller said these three simple steps are not difficult once set up.
Between January and September last year, 5,712 cyber attacks were reported in New Zealand, 21 per day, directly causing more than $14 million in damage. muller said this amount only counts this portion of cyber attacks reported to the police or CERT NZ (New Zealand’s national computer emergency response team) and is likely just the tip of the iceberg.
Muller pointed out that one of the cyber attacks is ransomware, which has become the biggest threat. Sometimes just because you click on a link, a piece of software is implanted into your computer, which takes control of your computer and extorts money from you.
Another is illegal money transfers, Muller said, adding that from reports, the most common cyber incident facing New Zealand businesses is unauthorized money transfers, which are often caused by phishing software.
You get an email that looks like it’s real and encourages you to click on a link, when it’s actually from a hacker. Hackers sometimes send an invoice in the name of a customer, but the bank account has become the hacker’s.
Or they also send an invoice to a company’s customer, again changing the bank information to the hacker’s. Or they stop the normal mail and modify it before sending it out.
The way to prevent it, he says, is to “always be vigilant about clicking on anything. Before you click on any link, check where it’s going.
He noted that making changes to reduce cyberattacks is not Time-consuming, and that “the tools [to prevent cyberattacks] are out there and are always adapting and improving.”
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