7 October 2025
This Cyber Smart Week, the NCSC is launching ‘How Exposed Am I’, through its Own Your Online platform.
The free digital tool which sources data from the Have I Been Pwned service, shows Kiwis personal information that has been exposed and leaked online, and helps them take protective action against scammers, giving them back control of their online security.
Information exposed on the internet is easy for scammers to access and can make accounts more susceptible to compromise.
The urgency is real:
- Recent research indicates that more than half (54%) of New Zealanders faced an online security threat over a six-month period.
- Yet, only 42% of New Zealanders feel personally vulnerable to online threats.
- It is estimated that New Zealanders lost NZ$1.6 billion to online threats in 2024.
- Over 830,000 New Zealanders had experienced some financial loss, with the average amount lost per attack being $1,260.
- The majority (88%) of those affected felt the incident's impact (moderate, significant, or severe).
Mike Jagusch, Director of Mission Enablement at the NCSC, illustrates the scale of the challenge facing New Zealanders in protecting their digital identities.
“Almost everyone carries a digital footprint, and with it, a level of exposure to scammers. The real difference between being scammed, or not, lies in how effectively we protect ourselves. The latest statistics highlight the increasing prevalence of cyber crime and the urgent need for proactive measures. Even the simplest cyber security actions like two-factor authentication and long, unique passwords can significantly reduce exposure and risk of an attack. Two-factor authentication alone can help stop 99% of automated online attacks and long, unique passwords can take billions of years to crack,” Jagusch added.
This initiative forms part of Own Your Online’s ongoing commitment to support New Zealanders to be more secure online. The ‘How Exposed Am I’ tool has already highlighted confronting realities for early users, with many surprised to learn the extent of their exposure online and just how far their personal information had spread.
Own Your Online is calling for Kiwis to bolster their security position through two key steps:
- Create long, unique passwords, and
- Turn on two-factor authentication (2FA) on your main accounts, beginning with the most crucial ones including bank, email, and social media, for an essential layer of protection.
Head to www.howexposedami.co.nz External Link to check your exposure score and find out more.