Objectives

Our principle objectives are to:

• Promote and extend through the Board a strategy focused on improving education related to the security of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) appropriate for the needs of New Zealand society including businesses, community groups and children.
• Implement a strategy to include but not necessarily be limited to undertaking, sponsoring or promoting relevant research and education, as well as producing and/or disseminating information related to ICT security awareness, best practice, incident response, incident handling, vulnerabilities, auditing and risk assessment.
• Provide educational resources relating to ICT security.
• Aim to increase education and awareness of information security as an enabler in the adoption of ICT.
• Conduct or sponsor seminars, lectures and courses related to the field of ICT security.

History

Planning for a Computer Emergency Readiness Team was initiated to improve the education related to the security of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) appropriate for the needs of New Zealand society. Subsequently a suitable domain name was procured in early 2005 with approaches to the New Zealand Companies Office occuring later that year.

In 2006, NZCERT was established as a Charitable Trust. We derive our funding from a number of sources and also accept donations to help sustain our operation. We also utilise the skills of volunteers and other organisations with suitable security experience.