Wynyard Group has launched an advanced risk management and compliance software solution specifically designed to help New Zealand government departments, agencies, state-owned enterprises, Crown entities and ministerial offices comply with the New Zealand Information Security Manual (NZISM).
Set by the Government Communications and Security Bureau (GCSB), the NZISM is a 528- page mandatory baseline technical security guideline that government departments and agencies must follow to secure information systems and data stored in those systems.
According to Verizon’s 2014 Global Data Breach Investigation Report, 98 per cent of data breaches and incidents in the public sector were due to errors, insider misuse, crimeware or lost and stolen assets.
Wynyard Group's vice president global marketing, Saya Wahrlich, says securing information and managing incidents is a growing challenge for governments as they are increasingly targeted by criminals, hacktivists or simply victims of human error.
“We have entered an era where chief executives all over the world are being held responsible for lapses in information security that have resulted in breaches costing millions of dollars, damaging reputations and public confidence.
“Our government customers came to us for help with meeting NZISM protocols. We have configured an advanced risk management solution which will help them manage the security and privacy of data, provide a single-view of risks and controls, and rapidly respond to incidents.”
The Wynyard solution helps manage information security across organisations, giving users tools for developing, implementing and maintaining standards of protective security, based on a common framework across the Government sector.
Wahrlich says the solution helps reduce surprises by allowing users to identify, manage and mitigate risks and gives real time access to information enabling informed decisions to be made.
“As well as helping agencies identify an information security or other security threat, the solution helps manage what to do if a breach does occur,” she says.
Wynyard’s solution is available to all 240 government departments required to follow the standards.