- Posted September 16, 2020
- Media Releases
There has been public commentary recently about a dataset reportedly prepared by a foreign company that includes a wide range of individuals from different countries, including New Zealanders.
The New Zealand Security Intelligence Service has the information relating to New Zealand and is reviewing it for any potential risks and security concerns. New Zealanders form a small part of the dataset, which includes information on a very large number of people from a range of different countries and backgrounds.
“While we are still assessing the information, at this stage we believe the information is primarily drawn from publicly accessible sources such as social media and news reporting” said the Director-General of Security, Rebecca Kitteridge.
“We know that different organisations compile information of this nature from publicly accessible sources for a range of purposes, ranging from private companies wanting to carry out marketing or research at one end of the spectrum, through to governments seeking to influence public discussion or gather intelligence in other countries at the other,” said Ms Kitteridge.
“I understand people may be unaware their information could be gathered up in this way.”
“This is a timely reminder to everyone to check the security settings on their social media accounts and review the amount of information they are sharing on the internet,” Ms Kitteridge said.
The CERT NZ website(external link) has good information on cyber security and social media.
The Protective Security Requirements website(external link) has information for organisations on information security.
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