NZITF welcomes launch of CERT NZ

The New Zealand Internet Task Force (NZITF) welcomes the Government’s launch of a dedicated Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) for New Zealand.

Newly-established CERT NZ opened its doors in early April. Its role includes incident response and triage, situational awareness, advice and outreach, international collaboration with other CERTS, and co-ordination of serious cyber incidents.

NZITF Chair Barry Brailey says CERT NZ has been a long time coming and will fulfill an important function in providing up-to-date information and advice to New Zealanders with cybersecurity concerns. Its focus is complementary to NZITF’s own, related mission to improve the cybersecurity posture of New Zealand.

“We look forward to enjoying a collaborative and cooperative working relationship with the team at CERT NZ. Our trusted community of InfoSec specialists from government, law enforcement, academia, IT and private sector industries stand ready to help CERT NZ achieve its goals.

“Unity of effort is important in an area as fast changing as cybersecurity. In the coming months we’ll be looking at how best we can help CERT NZ. Ultimately, the more collaborations there are, the better the outcomes for the thousands of individuals and businesses across New Zealand who live, work and play online.”

For the past several years, NZITF has been running a Coordinated Disclosure system. With Coordinated Disclosure, anybody who finds a vulnerability in a website or ICT system can report it to disclosure@nzitf.org.nz. This arrangement for continue for now, while CERT NZ establishes itself.

More information about NZITF’s Coordinated Disclosure system can be found at:
http://nzitf.org.nz/coordinated-disclosure/