New Zealand is ranked 56th in the world in cyber security according to the Portulans Institute and greater effort is urgently needed as the economy rapidly becomes more digital, NZTech chief executive Graeme Muller says

A total of 2333 cyber security incidents were reported in New Zealand in the first quarter this year. Phishing and credential harvesting continue to grow and be the most common forms of cyber attacks.

Yet very little money is being invested in cyber security in New Zealand while the Australian government has budgeted to spend $A9.9 billion on cyber security this year, says Graeme.

NZTech and Brightstar Events are hosting the seventh annual NZ cyber security summit in Wellington on July 25 and 26, where business leaders and cyber professionals gather to learn about the latest threats and how to protect their organisations and customers.

Cyber security is fast becoming one of the most sought after skills in the tech space. It's estimated that there are 3.5 million unfilled cyber security jobs currently available globally, Graeme says.

'From threats of software attacks, intellectual property theft, cloud and network hacking, as well as data and information extortion, it's no wonder that in this ever-increasing data centric world this market is exploding in demand.

'Innovative data capturing technology powered by IoT continues to be vulnerable to security risks. Our IoT Alliance cyber security working group aims to investigate the current cyber security issues in the IoT space and explore current and emerging solutions being developed in New Zealand.”

'Why are we so far behind other countries, and what must be done for us to be better?

A survey released by Kordia's Aura Information Security found more than half of Kiwi businesses have been targeted by a ransomware attack in the 12 months to December last year.

Cyberattacks in New Zealand such as the NZX and the Waikato DHB have affected how companies view cybersecurity.

'Unfortunately, despite global efforts, every subsequent year the numbers get worse and show that we are far from being able to mitigate and contain the numerous cyber-threats targeting both industry and government.

'So many businesses have still not put cybersecurity risk plans in place. According to the research it takes two days on average to penetrate a company's internal network.

'As cyberattacks grow in numbers, businesses are increasingly under the gun to protect themselves from compromise.”