Rise In Financial Losses Reported To The NCSC
The National Cyber Security Centre's Cyber Security Insights report for Q1 2025, released 13 June, shows a 14.7% quarterly increase in financial loss reported by New Zealanders.
For the period from 1 January to 31 March 2025, a total of 1,369 incidents were reported to the NCSC. Of these, 77 incidents were triaged for specialist support because they were of potential national significance.
Financial losses of NZ$7.8 million were reported to the NCSC, compared with $6.8 million in the previous quarter.
'This is the second-highest quarterly total loss figure the NCSC has ever recorded," said the NCSC's Response and Investigations Team Lead, Tom Roberts. 'Many of these losses again came from scams and fraud, particularly through business email compromise – where an attacker targets the email systems of a business to obtain money or information – and unauthorised money transfers. This is consistent with what we saw in the previous quarter.'
'The true scale of losses is likely to be much greater, since we know only a small proportion of losses are reported to us,' said Mr. Roberts. 'We urge people to be cautious online because bad actors are always waiting for an opportunity to steal money or information.'
More than half of the losses reported to the NCSC were to businesses. "We have seen that cyber criminals are often targeting organisations that manage large financial transactions, like law firms and real estate agencies," said Mr. Roberts.
'We encourage individuals and businesses to report incidents to us. Our staff have deep expertise in analysing cyber threats, and we can help people respond to and recover from incidents. The reports we receive also help us to gain a better picture of the current threat environment. This information shows us where we can best focus our efforts to protect New Zealanders online.'
Key highlights from 1 January to 31 March 2025:
1,369 incident reports were recorded by the NCSC. Of these, 77 were triaged for specialist technical support because they were of potential national significance.
The remaining 1,292 were handled through the NCSC's general triage process. These incidents were largely reported to the NCSC by individuals and businesses.
Compared to Q4 2024, this is an increase of 0.8% in total incident reports.
Direct financial loss was $7.8 million. This is a 14.7% increase compared to the previous quarter's $6.8 million. This is the second-highest financial loss in a quarter ever recorded by the NCSC – the largest was $8.9 million recorded in Q3 2022.
There were 10 recorded incidents in which more than NZ$100k was lost.
With 486 total reports, Scams and Fraud was again the most reported incident category. The second-highest number by category was Phishing and Credential Harvesting, with 440 total incident reports.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scoop
7 hours ago
- Scoop
New Halal Agreement Unlocks Opportunity In Indonesia
Hon Todd McClay Minister for Trade and Investment Minister of Agriculture The Government has signed a new halal cooperation arrangement in Jakarta over the weekend to strengthen trade access to Indonesia and create new opportunities for New Zealand's red meat and dairy exporters, Agriculture and Trade Minister, Todd McClay announced today. 'Indonesia is an important growth market for dairy and meat products – worth over $1.1 billion in exports last year. With a population of 280 million and a large middle-class Indonesia is a focus market for the Government,' Mr McClay says. The Halal Cooperation Arrangement (HCA) supports ongoing collaboration between New Zealand and Indonesia on halal standards, certification, and product assurance – helping exporters meet requirements and streamline trade. 'There's huge potential for our premium products, and this agreement will give exporters confidence in maximising that opportunity.' 'Importantly, the HCA was developed with close input from our dairy and red meat sectors —delivering value for our world best producers,' Mr McClay says. 'This is another step in our plan to grow the economy by boosting exports and delivering stronger returns for Kiwi farmers and processors.' 'When rural New Zealand does well, all New Zealanders do well.'
Scoop
9 hours ago
- Scoop
Rise In Financial Losses Reported To The NCSC
The National Cyber Security Centre's Cyber Security Insights report for Q1 2025, released 13 June, shows a 14.7% quarterly increase in financial loss reported by New Zealanders. For the period from 1 January to 31 March 2025, a total of 1,369 incidents were reported to the NCSC. Of these, 77 incidents were triaged for specialist support because they were of potential national significance. Financial losses of NZ$7.8 million were reported to the NCSC, compared with $6.8 million in the previous quarter. 'This is the second-highest quarterly total loss figure the NCSC has ever recorded," said the NCSC's Response and Investigations Team Lead, Tom Roberts. 'Many of these losses again came from scams and fraud, particularly through business email compromise – where an attacker targets the email systems of a business to obtain money or information – and unauthorised money transfers. This is consistent with what we saw in the previous quarter.' 'The true scale of losses is likely to be much greater, since we know only a small proportion of losses are reported to us,' said Mr. Roberts. 'We urge people to be cautious online because bad actors are always waiting for an opportunity to steal money or information.' More than half of the losses reported to the NCSC were to businesses. "We have seen that cyber criminals are often targeting organisations that manage large financial transactions, like law firms and real estate agencies," said Mr. Roberts. 'We encourage individuals and businesses to report incidents to us. Our staff have deep expertise in analysing cyber threats, and we can help people respond to and recover from incidents. The reports we receive also help us to gain a better picture of the current threat environment. This information shows us where we can best focus our efforts to protect New Zealanders online.' Key highlights from 1 January to 31 March 2025: 1,369 incident reports were recorded by the NCSC. Of these, 77 were triaged for specialist technical support because they were of potential national significance. The remaining 1,292 were handled through the NCSC's general triage process. These incidents were largely reported to the NCSC by individuals and businesses. Compared to Q4 2024, this is an increase of 0.8% in total incident reports. Direct financial loss was $7.8 million. This is a 14.7% increase compared to the previous quarter's $6.8 million. This is the second-highest financial loss in a quarter ever recorded by the NCSC – the largest was $8.9 million recorded in Q3 2022. There were 10 recorded incidents in which more than NZ$100k was lost. With 486 total reports, Scams and Fraud was again the most reported incident category. The second-highest number by category was Phishing and Credential Harvesting, with 440 total incident reports.
Scoop
13 hours ago
- Scoop
Telecommunications Industry To Review Scam Prevention Code With Consumer Focus
The New Zealand Telecommunications Forum (TCF) today announces it will commence with a review of its Scam Prevention Code. Since its inception, the Code has played a key role in improving the sector's response to preventing scams and anti-scam sector collaboration. The purpose of the Code is: To reduce the volume of scam calls and scam SMS, stopping them as close as possible to the source. Coordinate sharing of scam call and scam SMS information within the sector and with other third parties. Minimise the risk of harm to New Zealand consumers from scams. Define how retail providers, network operators and A2P SMS partners identify and communicate scam calls and SMS with each other. To educate consumers on scam awareness and protections. The Code ensures telecommunications providers have in place mechanisms to detect, verify, block, and report suspected scam activity. Alongside the telecommunications providers signatories there are currently nine non-telecommunications organisations who have signed a memorandum of understanding to the Scam Prevention Code, including most of the major New Zealand banks and key government agencies. This agreement enables non-telecommunications organisations to submit scam SMS and call notifications to telecommunications providers for investigation who can then take action to block messages that may harm New Zealand consumers. As scam tactics evolve and consumer harm persists, the TCF has committed to reviewing the Code to ensure it is still fit for purpose and incorporates the new anti-scam initiatives that telecommunications providers are implementing today. 'The Scam Prevention Code has helped create a robust framework for industry-wide cooperation. But scams are becoming more sophisticated, and the impacts on everyday New Zealanders are increasing,' says Paul Brislen, Chief Executive of the TCF. 'This review will ensure we maintain a high standard of technical response, while also strengthening the Code's accessibility and relevance to consumers.' The review will focus on incorporating feedback from the Ministerial roundtable that has been set up to coordinate activity between industry, law enforcement and government. The TCF plans to also review consumer education and reporting mechanisms to better support public awareness and response to scams. Hon Scott Simpson, Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs and the Government's lead anti-scam Minister, says: 'Combatting scams is a joint effort, requiring strong collaboration between all the players in the 'scam ecosystem'. It's essential that New Zealanders feel safe and confident when using telecommunications services, and I welcome the Telecommunications Forum's proactive steps to align industry action with the needs and expectations of consumers.' The revised Code will be developed with a view to engaging more closely with digital platforms – a key partner in the fight against scams. 'Enhanced cross-sector coordination is essential to counter the increasingly complex scam landscape. By sharing insights, intelligence, and best practices across sectors, the TCF aims to build a more unified national response that better protects New Zealand consumers from harm,' says Paul Brislen.
