OUR NEWS

18 May 2023

As you may be aware, Smithbridge has been impacted by a cyber incident that has resulted in unauthorised access to our systems. This has impacted records held in our systems.

Whilst the compromise of our systems is still under investigation, it does appear that our data has been impacted. This may include personal information. The security and safety of all affected individuals is our number one priority.

Our team is working around the clock to fully understand the details of the incident and safely and securely restore full functionality of these systems. We have engaged the appropriate cyber incident response experts and are also notifying the relevant authorities including the New Zealand Office of the Privacy Commissioner.

We urge all of those who are in any way connected to Smithbridge to be vigilant, including with online communications and transactions. Steps that we suggest you take include the following:

• If you are contacted in any way (phone, email, text or via and messenger service such as WhatsApp or Facebook) by someone presenting themselves as a representative of the company and asking for your data or for payment, do not respond without verbal or in person verification of the person asking for the information.
• Stay alert for any phishing scams via SMS, phone, post or email.
• Always verify the sender of any communications received to make sure they’re legitimate.
• Do not respond to emails or requests for payment without first ensuring they’re legitimate.
• Do not open texts from unknown or suspicious numbers purporting to be from Smithbridge.
• If you are a victim of cybercrime in New Zealand, reporting it at on the National Cyber Security Centre website.

In addition to the above, you can contact one of New Zealand’s credit reporting agencies for a credit report so you can check if your identity has been used to obtain credit without your knowledge.

We continue to work with our advisors and will provide further updates as we receive guidance about further precautionary actions to be taken by the business and by individuals.

Please do not hesitate to contact Shane Fraser (+64  212 146 763) if you have any questions or if you need further information.