Privacy Commissioner news stories

Michael Webster, who is currently the Secretary of the Cabinet, will step into the Privacy Commissioner role on 5 July 2022.

Data storage can often be a low priority but the consequences can be devastating. Why is this so important and what should NZ companies be thinking about?

Privacy Commissioner John Edwards says, “We are seeing clear patterns emerging since mandatory reporting of serious privacy breaches came into effect with the Privacy Act 2020 on 1 December last year.”

Given the massive amounts of data enterprises hold, it may seem like an impossible task to prove what data was accessed and by whom. It isn’t. 

"It is necessary to publicly acknowledge the steps being taken by the Bank, to provide assurance to the public that these issues are being addressed," says Commissioner.

“While this consideration reflects the expertise of the Commissioner, it also reflects the work of the strong and stable team within the Office... and the results they have achieved for privacy in New Zealand.” 

Barely four months since the Privacy Act 2020 came into force, early indications appear to suggest that mandatory breach reporting regulations are working.

“First AML conducts regular, detailed staff privacy and security training sessions and employs regular third-party audits that go above and beyond what is required by law."

New Zealand’s new Privacy Act is now in effect, and there are significant changes that affect every organisation that operates in New Zealand.

Privacy Commissioner John Edwards officially opened the centre this week, recognising SecOps’ efforts to provide managed security services to New Zealand businesses.

Of 1398 polled New Zealanders, 65% are in favour of strong privacy regulation, 29% are happy with the same level of regulation, and 6% prefer less legislation.

“Privacy is about being transparent and clear with customers and protecting their personal information. It’s about telling people what you’re collecting and what you’re going to do with it."

Edwards has a clear message: If New Zealand businesses undermine the issue of privacy, they will ruin their business.

The service has been put through a robust Privacy Impact Assessment and it was developed in accordance with New Zealand’s current privacy legislation.

“We see privacy as key to building and maintaining customer trust,” says Air New Zealand chief.

The Privacy Commissioner was seeking maximum breach fines of up to $1 million against body corporates.

"Privacy is an essential human right and the online world has brought many changes and challenges to how privacy works in the Internet age."

"Clearly, privacy matters to a number of individuals in the .nz domain name space," comments Domain Name Commissioner Brent Carey.

RealMe and Trade Me’s Transparency Reporting websites are the first two recipients of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner’s new Privacy Trust Mark.

Those on a lower income of $55,000 or less were more likely to be concerned about privacy (77%) than those with higher incomes (63%).

New Zealand’s updated Privacy Bill is about to begin its first reading in Parliament with Andrew Little as the MP in charge.

The fact that Yahoo may have known about the breach for a number of months before alerting the public shows why we need mandatory breach notification.

The Police are now looking into the matter, via the National Cyber Crime Centre.

Just how much privacy do you have these days? The internet poses the biggest single threat to privacy.