7. Question No. 7—Public ServiceIBRAHIM OMER (Labour) to the Minister for the Public ServiceQuestion No. 7—Public Service7. IBRAHIM OMER (Labour) to the Minister for the Public Service: What recent announcements has he made about strengthening New Zealand's cyber-security readiness and response?Hon ANDREW LITTLE (Minister for the Public Service): The cyber-security threats New Zealand faces are growing in scale and sophistication. This Government is committed to staying ahead of the hackers to protect communities businesses and our public services. This morning I announced that we're acting on the Cyber Security Advisory Committee's recommendation to bring New Zealand's Computer Emergency Response Team CERT NZ into the National Cyber Security Centre NCSC and that this will occur from 31 August. The new lead operational agency will strengthen cyber-security readiness and response as well as make it easier for people and organisations to get help. I want to thank my colleague the Minister for the Digital Economy and Communications the Hon Ginny Andersen for her contributions to this important work.Ibrahim Omer: What was the Cyber Security Advisory Committee and what did it recommend?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: Following a number of high profile cyber-security incidents the Cyber Security Advisory Committee or CSAC was established in December 2021 to advise on the role Government could play in lifting cyber-security capability. It was chaired by one of the early leaders of TradeMe Mike O'Donnell and included representatives from industry and cyber-security bodies Consumer New Zealand State-owned enterprises large business academia and Māori. After a year of consultations CSAC found the system was fragmented created what they described as a merry-go-round experience" for business victims and did not present a safe experience for Māori especially when information sharing goes unchecked. CSAC recommended the creation of a single front door to provide authoritative advice and respond to incidents across every threat level. It said this would be best achieved by merging CERT NZ and the NCSC in part because the NCSC is subject to robust legislation to protect individuals and users' data whereas the previous Government did not put the same protections around CERT NZ when they established that organisation.Ibrahim Omer: What have been the trends in cyber-security threats to New Zealand?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: We know the scale sophistication and disruption caused by cyber-security threats are increasing. Criminal actors increasingly have access to tools that were previously only available to nation States. CERT NZ's latest quarterly update said they'd received reports of $5.8 million of direct financial losses from cyber incidents in the first quarter and the NCSC says they have prevented $33 million of harm to our economy over the whole of last year. The reality is the true scale of harm to our economy is likely under-reported and having a single front door that can receive reports and offer help will provide more effective mitigations and better insights for the future.Ibrahim Omer: What will be some of the benefits of having a lead operational cyber-security agency?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: Having a merged agency to provide authoritative advice and respond to incidents across every threat level is now international best practice. I point to Canada's Communications Security Establishment as an example of excellence that New Zealand should aspire to. A single front door will ensure that New Zealand is well placed to take advantage of the opportunities in the digital economy and provide secure Government services to our citizens.Ibrahim Omer: What other investments has the Government made to strengthen New Zealand's cyber-security?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: Since 2018 this Government has invested $94 million in improved cyber-security capability. We've delivered world-leading protection products such as Malware Free Networks to protect internet service providers and private networks; we've rolled out baseline security templates that make it easier for organisations to take advantage of innovative cloud services while better protecting their information; and we're building a secure all-of-Government facility to house protected information at Whenuapai. The threats we're facing are growing and ongoing attention will be required to mitigate them."