Security

Spam, or unwanted e-mail, remains one of the biggest nuisances in the online world. It clogs mailboxes, disrupts legitimate communication, often exposes people to offensive material and can act as a vector for malware (malicious software).

In 2007 and 2008 InternetNZ provided funding for the Honeypot Project, a Victoria University scan of the .nz domain name space to detect malicious web content using client honeypot technology. In computer parlance a “honeypot” is a trap set to detect unauthorised use of information systems. It consists of a computer, data, or a network site that appears to be part of a network, but is actually isolated, unprotected, and monitored.

The New Zealand Computer Crime and Security Survey is an annual piece of research carried out by the Security Research Group (SRG) of the University of Otago, in partnership with the New Zealand Internet Task Force, New Zealand Police and the Computer Security Institute (CSI). InternetNZ contributed funding to the 2010 survey, which was based on the responses of 176 New Zealand computer security practitioners.