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The hacking of a New Zealand government research institution's supercomputer has brought home the country's vulnerability to global cyber-security threats, an expert said Monday.
The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) computer, valued at 13 million NZ dollars (11.09 million U.S. dollars) and one of the most powerful in the world for environmental research, was hacked by an unknown cyber intruder last week, Radio New Zealand reported.
NIWA issued a statement Monday saying the hacking bid was unsuccessful as the supercomputer was immediately taken offline and tested, and the computer was now back online and operating normally.
The National Cyber Security Centre, part of the Government Communications Security Bureau foreign intelligence agency, had been kept fully informed throughout the process, it said.
"The supercomputer is used to run scientific models and services and no sensitive personal or client information is stored on it," said the statement.
The Insurance Council of New Zealand (ICNZ) said cyber-related crimes were believed to have cost New Zealand businesses more than 625 million NZ dollars (533.18 million U.S. dollars) in 2011.
"The hacking of NIWA's supercomputer last week is a stark reminder that New Zealand is not immune to the increasing global threat of cyber-crime," ICNZ chief executive Tim Grafton said in a statement.
Global cyber-attacks had increased more than 2,000 percent in the past four years with about half originating from the Asia Pacific region, he said.
"Experts are warning that New Zealand is woefully underprepared for the increasing threat of cyber-attacks," said Grafton.
