Unitec security health check for SME businesses short-listed in national awards
A cyber-security health check programme from Unitec Institute of Technology has been selected as a finalist for the
iSANZ 2016 InfoSec New Zealand Awards.
Unitec is one of three finalists in ‘best security project or initiative’ alongside Air New Zealand for its security
transformation programme and the Department of Internal Affairs for its work on domain name systems and DNS security
extensions for .govt.nz
Unitec’s health check uses cyber-security students working under the supervision of an experienced cyber-security
technical consultant and helps raise awareness of cyber-security for small to medium sized businesses (SMEs).
Director of the High Tech Transdisciplinary Research network, Professor Hossein Sarrafzadeh says the team is thrilled to
be recognised for their security health check initiative which was developed in response to the rapid increase of
cybercrime in New Zealand.
“We focussed our attention on health checks for small and medium-sized enterprises. These organisations are major
players in New Zealand’s economic growth but often do not have resource to undertake a cyber-security health check for
their own business.”
“Major risks facing SMEs are simple daily threats, such as malware, viruses and scams which often go undetected. SME
staff and management often do not have extensive cyber-security knowledge or don’t know where to find the best answers.
These health checks can help.”
The reasonably-priced health check costs $600. Unitec is looking to partner with a security software technology company
to expand and roll-out programme.
Unitec will also be hosting the 14th International Privacy Security and Trust Conference on “What will a secure New
Zealand look like in five years’ time?” from 12-14 December.
The iSANZ 2016 InfoSec New Zealand Awards winners will be announced Te Papa in Wellington on 15 November.
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