Cyber security incidents drop but losses go up, new report shows
The latest cyber security statistics show New Zealanders reporting fewer incidents, but the money lost to scammers and cyber criminals has nearly doubled.
Online scams are costing Aotearoa
CERT NZ’s latest Cyber Security Insights report, covering the first quarter of 2024, showed New Zealanders reported $6.6 million lost to cybercrime, up 84% from the previous quarter.
More New Zealanders reported losing money. There were 413 incidents that reported financial loss and indicated the loss amount, compared to 364 in the final quarter of 2023.
However, the bulk of the money lost was from a handful of scams where people reported losing over $100,000.
The percentage of incidents with financial loss below $500 has decreased for the third quarter in a row.
"We hope that New Zealanders who might normally be caught out by less costly scams are getting better at spotting them," said CERT NZ Acting Director Sue Critchlow.
Number of reports drop
Between 1 January and 31 March 2024, CERT NZ received 1,530 reports, a 20% decrease from the last quarter of 2023.
“A drop in incidents sounds like encouraging news, but we also know cybercrime is significantly underreported,” Critchlow said.
“Reporting every incident and forwarding phishing links can seem like a waste of time because new emails and messages keep popping up in your inbox. But every report sent through to CERT NZ plays a part in keeping everyone in Aotearoa safe from future threats.”
CERT NZ relies on reports from all New Zealanders – individuals and organisations – to assess and act against online threats and so, the main message in the Cyber Security Insights report is to report every incident to CERT NZ.
Read the full report on CERT NZ's website
You can report any incident to CERT NZ using the reporting tool on its website.