Transcript
is on for countries to protect and secure their systems. Consultation on strengthening our critical infrastructure has just closed, and Cabinet is now reviewing the feedback. Cyber security company Fortinet's Head of Governance for Australia and New Zealand, Nicole Henry, is with us now. Good morning, Nicole. You were part of some of these meetings yesterday with government officials. What did you take away from that event? Good morning, May. Yes, I was at the cyber showcase yesterday. It was an excellent event. What really got me was that, in addition to the technology discussions around AI and automation and how that's really accelerating threat, was the core focus on governance. There's real recognition that we need to get our governance settings right to make sure that we're supporting industry with the best preparation, the best positioning to be able to respond and react to these threats. On that then, how does New Zealand's governance structure compare to the likes of, let's say, Australia? What's really interesting there is Australia moved quite quickly to set up its regulatory settings. New Zealand has been historically following a much more voluntary approach, but the consultation and the reforms that are being proposed is moving that much more towards a clearer set of minimum mandatory standards. I think this is really important. Cybercrime is costing the New Zealand economy around $1.6 billion a year. These settings are essential to ensure that we're not only protecting national security, but the economic productivity of the nation. $1.6 billion is a lot. You also advocate for the fact that businesses can't treat cybersecurity as a compliance exercise. Why is that? It's got to be more than compliance. It can't be a tick box exercise. With the pace and scale of the threat environment that we're facing, we need to have settings that support education, preparation, clear reporting, so that we have those settings in place that allow for industry and citizens to react and respond in real times of crisis. When you were at the showcase yesterday, did you get a gauge? Do you think New Zealand truly understands the risk here? I do. I do. I think that it is increasingly so. You have quite a network here of experts and professionals that are really dedicated towards making sure that we do get these systems and settings right. I was lucky enough to sit in on a consultation with the department, the Prime Minister and Cabinet, discussing the proposals and reforms, and with a number of other industry stakeholders. The buy-in and support for the settings that are being proposed was clear. There are some points of tension, but you would expect that in any regulatory consultation process. Fundamentally, with the outcome from yesterday, it was very clear that New Zealand has a lot of support behind it to make sure it's getting these settings right. I think what's really important is it's not just copying what Australia has done. It's taken a look at a range of different international models, and then it's making decisions that are appropriate for the New Zealand context. From a FORDinet perspective, that's what you want to see. You want to see making sure that the settings are localised and appropriate for their context. Thank you very much, Nicole. That is FORDinet's Head of Governance for Australia and New Zealand, Nicole Henry.
