Experts warn NZ businesses to prepare for AI-driven cyber threats

Role of board of directors highlighted

Experts warn NZ businesses to prepare for AI-driven cyber threats

Cyber

By Roxanne Libatique

Cybersecurity experts are calling on New Zealand businesses to strengthen their defences as cyber threats grow in sophistication.

Key developments, such as AI-driven phishing, the adoption of digital identity wallets, and the shift to passkey authentication, are reshaping the cybersecurity landscape. These trends, combined with rising attack frequencies, require organisations to adopt proactive measures and align with evolving regulatory standards.

Global leaders, including experts from Yubico, and local organisations like CERT NZ and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), have identified critical areas of focus for 2025. These include:

  • combating increasingly sophisticated attacks
  • implementing modern authentication methods
  • prioritising board-level involvement in cybersecurity strategies

Digital identity wallets and authentication tools

Digital identity wallets are emerging as a vital tool for securing sensitive data and protecting against identity theft.

Yubico founder Stina Ehrensvard believes these wallets will become an essential part of cybersecurity infrastructure, enabling users to control when and how personal information is shared.

“Digital identity wallets aim to offer a new approach to the use of federated identities where users are in control of when and where their personal data is shared – and with whom. User credentials and data includes important things like driver’s licenses, insurance cards, work and student visas, travel documents, credit card data, educational credentials, and digital medical prescriptions,” she said.

She added that organisations must prepare to integrate these technologies into their systems as more countries adopt digital identity standards.

Passkeys, which are designed to replace traditional passwords, are also gaining traction.

Derek Hanson, Yubico’s vice president of standards and alliances, anticipates a significant rise in the use of passkeys across enterprises, driven by their potential to simplify secure logins. However, he warned that reliance on outdated methods such as SMS-based multi-factor authentication (MFA) could slow adoption.

AI-driven phishing

Artificial intelligence is enabling more advanced cyberattacks, particularly in phishing.

Chad Thunberg, Yubico’s chief information security officer, cautioned that generative AI is making it easier for attackers to scale phishing campaigns and create highly convincing messages, mimicked voices, or fake content.

“These types of attacks usually focus on convincing the victim to take action but can be mitigated by validating the request using an alternative communication path – ideally one that is known to be good,” he said.

Impact of cyber threats on New Zealand businesses

CERT NZ has highlighted the growing impact of these threats on New Zealand businesses. Between April and September 2024, one in three small and medium-sized enterprises reported experiencing cyberattacks.

Meanwhile, the NCSC observed a 58% increase in reported incidents during the third quarter of 2024 compared to the prior quarter.

Cybersecurity in the boardroom

Mark Baker, New Zealand country manager for Check Point Software Technologies, stressed that cybersecurity must be treated as a strategic priority.

He argued that boards of directors should play a more active role in shaping cybersecurity policies, allocating resources, and overseeing compliance with regulatory standards.

“Far from being a passive observer, the board must play an active role in defining, supporting, and overseeing cyber security strategies to ensure long-term organisational resilience,” he said, as reported by Security Brief.

He suggested that board members receive training on key topics, including ransomware, AI-enabled attacks, and emerging threats like deepfakes.

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