Jun 16, 2023

June 16, 2023 New Zealand-based payments solutions provider Smartpay Holdings said on Friday that it faced a ransomware attack last week, becoming the latest victim in a slew of cyberattacks taking place in the region and in Australia since last year. The company has conducted an investigation that has confirmed the theft of information from customers in Australia and New Zealand from its systems, it said. Smartpay said it has engaged cybersecurity specialist CyberCX, after discovering the incident and is working with the government. The company’s customers can continue to use its payment platforms and terminals as normal, it said. Shares of the company were trading 0.3% lower, as of 0234 GMT. In fiscal 2022, Smartpay processed more than 78 million transactions with a total value of NZ$2.7 billion ($1.68 billion), a near 80% jump from a year ago. The ransomware attack is the latest in a flurry of cyber attacks on companies in Australia and New Zealand over the past 10 months, with Medibank Private Ltd . and SingTel’s Optus facing the biggest breaches. ($1 = 1.6054 New Zealand dollars) (Reporting by John Biju in Bengaluru; editing by Rashmi Aich and Sonia Cheema) Related: