Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Ministry creates new position to oversee IT security

Updated at 9:30 pm on 6 December 2012

The Ministry of Social Development is creating a new position to oversee information security and implement recommendations made in an independent report.

The Ministry on Thursday released the second phase of a Deloitte report ordered after security was breached in its public kiosks.

Four staff members are still undergoing an employment investigation after they were alerted that the kiosks had serious security flaws but did not do anything about it.

Ministry chief executive Brendan Boyle said the second part of the report into its IT security has found no evidence of other breaches but did find a need for improved management of information security risks.

Mr Boyle said a new role of chief information security officer is being created to implement all the recommendations.

He says a new option for the kiosks has been decided on, and once they have been rigorously tested they should be rolled out in May next year.

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett says she is relieved that the investigation found no wider security concerns at the ministry.

"Obviously, something went wrong and we can't deny that. It's good to know though that it's not across the whole business and that really there's not a culture of treating people's information unsafely."

Mrs Bennett says a new role of Chief Information Security Officer is being created at the ministry to implement all the report's recommendations.

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