NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

NZ cloud storage company being used by ransomware attackers, says FBI

RNZ
1 Jun, 2021 02:43 AM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Waikato DHB's IT centre was the target of a major cyber security attack. Video / Waikato DHB

By Phil Pennington for RNZ

The FBI warns Auckland company Mega.NZ is being used by ransomware attackers.

The company has told RNZ there is no sign hackers are using its service to store patient data stolen from Waikato hospitals, but it cannot rule out the possibility.

The FBI has issued a series of alerts since last year, naming Mega.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The latest - on May 20, three days after Waikato DHB was crippled - said Mega was one of two cloud storage services that hackers behind mass attacks, including on health services, had been using.

Another, in March, said: "The cyber actors have uploaded stolen data to Mega.NZ, a cloud storage and file sharing service, by uploading the data through the Mega website or by installing the Mega client application directly on a victim's computer."

Mega said there was no way to prevent criminals using legitimate software since they fully controlled the system they hacked.

It was also impossible to know what its 220 million account holders kept on their encrypted files, except if law enforcement or a hacked company alerted it.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"If they found a Mega link, it would be reported to us and [the account] closed within minutes," Mega chief executive and chair Stephen Hall told RNZ.

He could "not guarantee" Mega's services were not being used by the Waikato DHB's hackers, but so far the company had not been alerted by local police or Waikato DHB.

"All I can say is there's no sign of that being on Mega at this stage," Hall said.

The FBI alerts also referred to hackers using Microsoft's Windows Sysinternals and Swiss firm pCloud.

Mega.NZ is a successor company to Megaupload, set up by Kim Dotcom. Megaupload's domains were seized by the US Department of Justice.

Dotcom exited Mega years ago, and Hong Kong's Cloud Tech Services owns most of it.

'The last thing we would ever want'

It has been suggested the Waikato attack used ransomware called Conti, or Zeppelin.

The FBI said one indicator of a Conti ransomware attack was when large transfers went to Mega or pCloud servers.

Hall, asked if hackers had ever used Mega's premium and very large accounts, which it charges for, said the company was not making money out of stolen data.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Absolutely not. Certainly not our intention, nor is that the outcome.

"These people often just use a free account with a small limit, it's transitory.

"And we would never aim to or want to, or nor do we make money from it.

"Because it in fact causes us a lot of grief in tracking down, closing the account, dealing with law enforcement inquiries, and so on.

"It's the last thing we would ever want."

Using cloud storage was akin to the hacker using the phone wires or local computers in an attack, Hall said. Hackers were looking for efficient and fast platforms to exfiltrate data, and Mega was among those.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

In an FBI alert issued in July, it said attackers had "transitioned from uploading and releasing stolen data on Mega to uploading the stolen data to another file sharing service: website.dropmefiles.com".

Dark Web search

The FBI alert in May reported at least 16 Conti ransomware attacks targeting US healthcare and first responder networks, including law enforcement agencies and emergency medical services, within the last year, among 400 organisations worldwide hit by Conti.

An RNZ search on the Dark Web of a site labelled "Conti" did not find any mention of Waikato DHB.

Just one New Zealand company name was found, among the hundreds on the site, with a link to thousands of files purportedly hacked from it.

Hall said he was not aware of the general FBI online alerts, but he did respond to its alerts specific to Mega.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Mega had a good relationship with New Zealand police, and the FBI had sent him letters praising the company responses to hacking; law enforcement agencies were "very, very satisfied".

"I had a very appreciative letter from one major overseas law enforcement operation this week," Hall said, but would not name the agency.

It was difficult to identify people with a track history of stealing data, to block them from opening an account, he said.

Mega's users upload about 65 million files a day, or 750 files per second.

"We can't filter or investigate or index the whole wide world," Hall said.

Though files are encrypted, Mega has access to user registration information and IP addresses, its 2020 transparency report said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

In "extremely limited situations", Mega might disclose user information and data when it had written assurance from authorities that life or health was at stake.

Mega was served eight legal orders and disclosed information for accounts "alleged to be involved in serious criminal activity overseas," in 2019-2020, the report said.

It also closed down 565,000 accounts for sharing stolen or exploitative content.

Mega promoted its storage saying: "Strong, user-generated end-to-end encryption guarantees that nobody else will have unauthorised access to your data. Not even us."

Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

Premium
Opinion

Simon Wilson: Chlöe Swarbrick's lost Monopoly lessons

17 Jun 05:00 PM
Premium
Editorial

Editorial: New Zealand has the tools to tackle vaping

17 Jun 05:00 PM
New Zealand

'I wept': White Island tragedy doctor’s anguish at child’s death

17 Jun 05:00 PM

Jono and Ben brew up a tea-fuelled adventure in Sri Lanka

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Premium
Simon Wilson: Chlöe Swarbrick's lost Monopoly lessons

Simon Wilson: Chlöe Swarbrick's lost Monopoly lessons

17 Jun 05:00 PM

Opinion: Why do we find it so hard to taken Green economic planning seriously?

Premium
Editorial: New Zealand has the tools to tackle vaping

Editorial: New Zealand has the tools to tackle vaping

17 Jun 05:00 PM
'I wept': White Island tragedy doctor’s anguish at child’s death

'I wept': White Island tragedy doctor’s anguish at child’s death

17 Jun 05:00 PM
ECE expert calls for more regulations after issues raised in coronial reports

ECE expert calls for more regulations after issues raised in coronial reports

17 Jun 05:00 PM
Help for those helping hardest-hit
sponsored

Help for those helping hardest-hit

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP