Nectar New Zealand

16/06/2026

Most NZ businesses have never heard of SMB1001. Here's what it actually is.
SMB1001 is a cyber security certification standard built specifically for small and medium businesses. It sets out the controls a business needs to have in place; things like multi-factor authentication, tested backups, incident response plans, and staff training.

Once those controls are implemented, an independent body called CyberCert verifies them and issues certification.

What you get at the end isn't a badge. It's a document you can hand to any client, insurer, or procurement team that asks "can you prove it?"

We're an approved CyberCert partner, which means we help NZ businesses get there, end to end.
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14/06/2026

NZ businesses lost $26.9 million to cybercrime last financial year — up from $21.6 million the year before.

That's according to the NCSC's own Cyber Threat Report 2025. And it only counts what was reported.

The businesses behind those losses weren't all careless. Many had antivirus. Some had IT support. What most didn't have was anyone watching in real time — catching the threat before it became a claim.

There's a difference between having security software and having a security team.

12/06/2026

We’re excited to share that as of 1 June, Michael has stepped out of the Service Desk and into his new role as Security Operations Engineer (SecOps). It's a split position across Systems Engineering and Cyber Security, and a role he's genuinely earned.

Michael is one of the first at Nectar to hold this title, and it reflects both his hard work and the direction we’re heading as a business. Michael will be growing his cyber security skills, getting hands on with security monitoring, alert triage, and incident response - all while continuing to bring his engineering strengths to the team.

Huge congrats, Michael, you’re a star!

12/06/2026

The one thing you can do today that reduces your breach risk more than almost anything else:

Turn on multi-factor authentication for every staff email account.
Not just admins. Everyone.

Over 99% of account compromise attacks are stopped by MFA, according to Microsoft's own data. It takes about 10 minutes to enable across a Microsoft 365 tenant.

If you're not sure whether it's on, it probably isn't and your IT provider may not have flagged it because it wasn't breaking anything.

Not sure if it's on? We can check, and while we're there, we'll show you what else might be missing.

09/06/2026

The response to Breach & Bite last Friday has us already lining up the next one. Auckland, Christchurch, or somewhere in between… keep your eyes open, because you won't want to miss this.

Follow along so you're first to know when and where.

Thank you to our partners Kaseya, Huntress and ICIB Brokerweb Insurance and Risk Advisory.

Photo credits: Paul Barge

04/06/2026

Wow — the response to our Breach & Bite event today has been amazing.

Clearly, cyber risk is hitting close to home for NZ SMBs, and we’re ready to deliver a no‑nonsense session on breach costs, real local incidents, and how cyber security and insurance work hand‑in‑hand.

Thanks, everyone, for your support; we’re looking forward to welcoming you to lunch and learn, packed with insights you can act on.

02/06/2026

Behind every support call is someone who actually cares. For a lot of our clients, that's Josh. If you've ever called our support line, there's a good chance you've already spoken to him.

Josh joined Nectar in 2023 and brings a background that's anything but typical - from the Royal NZ Air Force to customer support to IT. He's the kind of person who genuinely wants to understand how your business works, not just fix the ticket.

Good people make good service. We think that matters.

01/06/2026

Your insurer just sent your cyber renewal form.
Can you answer yes to all of these?

☐ Staff use multi-factor authentication on all accounts
☐ Backups are tested, not just running
☐ There's a written incident response plan
☐ Software updates are applied within 30 days
☐ Someone independent has reviewed your M365 security settings

If you paused on any of them, so will your underwriter.

A $995 readiness audit answers all five - before the form does.

nectargroup.co.nz

01/06/2026

Nearly 6 million Carnival cruise customers just had their passport numbers, addresses and personal details stolen, including New Zealanders.

The attack didn't involve sophisticated hacking. Someone deceived a single employee into handing over access. That was enough.

This is how most breaches start; not with a technical exploit, but with a human being targeted and manipulated. It's called social engineering, and it works because people are trying to be helpful.

The question for any NZ business isn't whether your systems are perfect. It's whether your staff would recognise the attempt before clicking.

That's exactly what phishing simulation and training is designed to answer - safely, before an attacker does it for real.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/travel/travel-news/carnival-corporation-data-breach-kiwi-passengers-among-millions-of-customers-caught-up-in-major-hack/LXTCQITRA5HFVHUPZUZ55E5L7A/

Six million people's personal information is believed to have been accessed by hackers.

29/05/2026

Happy King’s Birthday for Monday, NZ! Whether you’re spending the long weekend with whānau, exploring the outdoors, or catching up on some well-earned downtime, we hope it’s a good one.