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New Zealand stock exchange halted by cyber-attack

Wed, 26 Aug 2020 01:49:07 GMT

The New Zealand stock exchange was knocked offline two days in a row due to a cyber-attack.

NZX said it had first been hit by a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack from abroad, on Tuesday.

The exchange said the attack had "impacted NZX network connectivity" and it had decided to halt trading in cash markets just before 16:00 local time.

Trading halted briefly for a second time, on Wednesday, but was back up and running before the end of the day.

A DDoS attack is a relatively simple type of cyber-attack, in which a large array of computers all try to connect to an online service at once, overwhelming its capacity.

They often use devices compromised by malware the owners do not know are part of the attack.

Genuine traders may have had problems carrying out their business.

But it does not mean any financial or personal information was accessed.

Police investigation launched after possible hacking, data breach

Wed, 15 Jul 2020 01:49:07 GMT

Police are investigating the possible hack of a New Zealand research company which could put the details of people who have been in contact with police at risk.

The contact details of some people who'd been in touch with police were given to the company, and the information was intended to be used for service quality research.

However on Wednesday, police announced the company concerned had alerted it to a data breach.

"The company has also reported the breach to police as a crime and our high tech cyber crime team is now investigating," Assistant Commissioner Jevon McSkimming says.

"We are working to understand the scope of the hack and the potential impact of any security breaches of information provided by police.

"Once we have a better understanding of the real risk to people, and the potential impact, we will look to inform those who may have been affected."

Local businesses reeling after weekend lockdown break-ins

Sun, 29 Mar 2020 00:49:07 GMT

A number of Rotorua businesses have been left feeling "gutted" and "annoyed" after a series of break-ins during the first weekend of the lockdown.

Five businesses were subject to break-ins over the weekend, with hundreds of dollars worth of goods taken and damage done to the stores.

Police say one petrol station was ram raided, while another had a single drink taken from the fridge.

Challenge Petrol Station on Malfroy Rd was subject to an attempted burglary about 4am on Saturday.

A police spokeswoman said it was alleged a stolen vehicle was used to crash into the premises.

There were no reports of injuries or anything stolen.

A 39-year-old man appeared in Rotorua District Court yesterday charged with burglary and unlawfully getting into motor vehicle.