It’s been a busy time for New Zealand’s National Cyber Security Centre as it takes an unprecedentedly proactive posture in relation to cyber threats, a context the National Cyber Security Summit 2026 is set to explore.
As the recent ManageMyHealth incident and NCSC announcements show, New Zealand cannot afford to get complacent about cybersecurity.
The ransom hack on New Zealand’s largest health portal is being billed as one of the country’s biggest cybersecurity incidents – hackers threatening to release more than 400,000 documents stolen from about 126,000 Manage My Health patients if the private company fails to pay $60,000.
It’s also been a massive period for the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). Recently, they took an unprecedented step – proactively reaching out to 26,000 New Zealanders to warn them their devices may be compromised by Lumma Stealer malware.
This is the first time they’ve conducted public outreach at this scale, signalling a fundamental shift toward a more active protective stance.
They also released the New Zealand Cyber Threat Report for 2025, and frankly, it makes for sobering reading.
A few key findings explain exactly why the NCSC is ramping up their activity:
- State-sponsored actors are now actively targeting New Zealand organisations
- Cybercriminals have access to increasingly sophisticated tools
- Supply chains have become prime attack vectors
- Unpatched vulnerabilities continue to provide easy entry points
And there’s more. The NCSC has just published new guidance on Secure Integration of AI in Operational Technology, recognising how rapidly our threat surface is expanding with emerging technologies.
For business leaders, this should be a clear signal. It reminds us that cybersecurity is a strategic business risk that demands board-level attention and investment as the threat environment has escalated to the point where government agencies are moving from reactive to proactive mode.
Hosted in Wellington between March 17 and 18 in Wellington, these issues (and more) will be explored at the 2026 National Cyber Security Summit.
