SMEs focus for Connect Smart Week

  • Amy Adams
Communications

Communications Minister Amy Adams says the second annual Connect Smart Awareness Week is a reminder to be vigilant about online security.

Kicking off tomorrow, this year’s Connect Smart Week has a particular focus on educating and supporting SMEs.

“Small businesses are absolutely critical to our economy and the internet is creating opportunities for New Zealand businesses to sell goods and services all over the world with ease,” Ms Adams says.

“Businesses that use the internet to its full potential are six per cent more productive than average. If we could get all SMEs online it could add up to $34 billion in productivity gains to New Zealand.

“However SMEs often don’t have the resources available to spend on security that bigger businesses do which leaves them vulnerable to online intrusion. Recent reports show 60 per cent of all cyber-attacks are aimed at SMEs,” Ms Adams says.

Ms Adams said SMEs could begin to improve their online security with a few simple steps including ensuring employees secured their smartphones with passwords.

Recent Connect Smart research showed that only half of New Zealanders with a work smartphone had a password on it (52 per cent), and even fewer had passwords on their work tablets (44 per cent).

“One of the key messages of Connect Smart is to encourage businesses to get online and make the most of the opportunities that internet has to offer. Connect Smart is not about deterring people from the internet – it is about empowering New Zealand to use the internet wisely and in an educated way,” Ms Adams says.

Cyber Security Warrant of Fitness – four steps to better online security:

  1. Assess the cyber security of your business
  2. Develop a cyber-security policy for your business
  3. Establish an incident management plan
  4. Regularly review and update your network security systems

Background:

Connect Smart is a growing public-partnership that promotes ways for individuals, businesses and schools to protect themselves online, and Connect Smart Week is a concentrated  week of activities to raise the profile of cyber security in  New Zealand.

Connect Smart started as week-long awareness campaign in 2014 but now operates throughout the year and includes over 100 partners from across the public.

For further information about Connect Smart, or to become a Connect Smart partner, visit www.connectsmart.govt.nz.