Cyber-crime is increasing and the nature of cyber-crime is changing says cyber-security expert Prof Hossein Sarrafzadeh. It is a trend we need to act on.
Prof Hossein Sarrafzadeh points to several recent sizeable ransomware and denial of service attacks for extortion and instances of criminals encrypting health data to bring hospitals to a halt or hacking pacemakers to demand ransom.
He warns New Zealand's relative geographic distance doesn't make us safe. "An attack on our automated ports, milk processing plants or our electricity network could bring the country to a standstill and wipe millions of dollars off our GDP. So staying ahead of cyber trends is crucial."
In 2015 New Zealand's education and incident response portal, Netsafe, showed cyber-attacks rose 70% on the previous year. During the same period, around $250 million was stolen from New Zealanders and their organisations through cyber-crime. Cyber threats are becoming so relevant to everyday business life that, this month, Communications Minister Amy Adams announced the establishment of a Cyber Security Skills Taskforce to address the shortage of cyber professionals in New Zealand.
Growth of cyber-crime is unsurprising says Prof Sarrafzadeh. He points to the very nature of the Internet. "It is connected, disorganised and to a certain extent, lawless. It is very much a virtual jungle."
"Firstly the world is becoming more connected. Connections provide more opportunity. Once upon a time, New Zealanders had desktop computers; now they may own a suite of devices like tablets, smartphones, wearables, and - perhaps in the near future - driverless cars. The internet-connected products that any one person owns, commonly known as the internet of things (IoT) allows the modern world more functionality. It also opens us up to more complex sophisticated crime in a much more personal way.
"Secondly, this digital world has not been created by design. Since the birth of the internet it has morphed and it is now difficult to change. We could aptly describe it as a jungle of disorganised growth.
"Finally, it is relatively lawless. Who patrols this environment? How is order maintained? It is a place where crimes can occur with no boundaries and almost anything can be hacked."
Prof Sarrafzadeh says households, schools and businesses alike, we all need to get good at managing online risks. There are simple steps such as regularly updating passwords, being careful with personal information, and being aware of people trying to get access to our systems.
"There is a lot people can do to improve their security online on an individual level but to combat larger attacks it is manufacturers and the producers of the IoT devices which need to be doing a better job. Security is a cat and mouse game. Manufacturers and businesses need to make entering systems and devices so difficult that hackers give up. Close one way as much as possible so they have to look for another entrance and potentially give up on you as a company and go somewhere else. Companies need to be seeking novel solutions and bringing in cyber-security expertise."
To bring the spotlight onto cyber-security issues Unitec is hosting the 14th International Privacy, Security and Trust Conference in Auckland from 12-14th December. It is the first time the conference has been brought to the Southern Hemisphere bringing together around 250 security experts to present research and address what a secure New Zealand would look like in five years' time. The conference aims to help foster partnerships which will spark security innovations and will look at the growing severity and nature of attacks, from financial crimes to fraud, security breaches to cyber-terrorism."
For more information on this public three-day industry summit day and conference click here
