MBIE said that in the year to June 1, it has detected two instances of unauthorised access to its networks which "could constitute a cyber-security incident". Photo / Supplied
MBIE said that in the year to June 1, it has detected two instances of unauthorised access to its networks which "could constitute a cyber-security incident". Photo / Supplied
One the Government's biggest agencies has admitted it has been hacked multiple times since June last year and receives up to 330,000 attacks to its website on a monthly basis.
It is the fourth government department or agency to reveal it has been the victim of a hack, following officialinformation act (OIA) requests by the Herald.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) said that, in the year to June 1, it has detected two instances of unauthorised access to its networks which "could constitute a cyber-security incident".
There was also one suspected unauthorised access.
The Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) describes a hack as "unauthorised access to your network or systems that would constitute a cyber-security incident".
Through multiple OIA requests, the Herald revealed that Statistics New Zealand said that between early 2017 and May last year, it was hacked three times.
The Ministry of Transport said that one of its "smaller websites" was hacked in April this year and Land information New Zealand said it had one instance of hacking in recent years.
Although the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) said it had not been hacked recently, it said that between January 2018 and May this year, it had detected and blocked more than 180 million attempted cyber intrusions.
MBIE said attempted breaches to its networks were an "everyday occurrence".
"For example, MBIE receives between 150,000 and 330,000 attacks monthly on their websites. A large majority of these attacks are of a reconnaissance nature only probing for vulnerabilities."
MBIE said in instances where it was hacked, there were no "significant impacts".
The OIA from MBIE said it employed a "wide range of cybersecurity tools both at the boundary and within our networks to detect and defend against unauthorised access".
Yesterday, Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media Minister Kris Faafoi said released the Government's revised Cyber Security Strategy. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Cyber safety has shifted further into focus after former Treasury Secretary Gabriel Makhlouf said sensitive Budget information had been acquired by a "hack" last month.
Treasury had not, in fact, been hacked and Makhlouf later admitted an "unknown person or persons appeared to have exploited a feature in the website search tool".
As it turned out, that "person or persons" was the National Party, which used the website's search bar to gather information.
In its report into Makhlouf's response, the State Services Commission said his likening the incident to a persistent attack on a bolted door fell short of the standards of a public service chief executive.
Yesterday, Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media Minister Kris Faafoi released the Government's revised Cyber Security Strategy.
He said the new plan means a more intense focus on how the Government deals with cybersecurity.
The Government allocated $8 million over the next four years in Budget 2019 to help implement the strategy. This is on top of $9.3m increased funding for CERT NZ.
