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You wouldn’t DIY your own dentistry or draft your own legal contracts, and for good reason. Yet many small business owners think nothing of handling their own IT and, more worryingly, their cybersecurity.

Businesses everywhere are discovering that employees are quietly using AI tools to boost their daily productivity. The catch? You never officially brought it on board.

When we ask our customers what they’d do if they suffered a cyber-attack, 99% say, “We’d call our IT team.” That’s a great first move. Your MSP is a crucial part of your cyber defence. But here’s the rub: that’s only half the job.

Running a small business means juggling a hundred things at once, including antivirus software. But stopping there is like putting a single brick in a leaky dam. If you really want to keep your business safe you need to also think about cyber resilience.

Outfox is thrilled to announce we’ve helped Global Research achieve a major cybersecurity milestone of SOC 2.

Find out how cyber resilience training from Outfox helped one of our clients defeat a scammer.

You’re running a small business and you’ve finally found that shiny new piece of hardware or app which promises to solve all your business headaches. But have you thought about doing a risk assessment first?

Find out about “Poisoned DocuSign” phishing attacks and how you can defend your business against them.

NZ retailers are being targetted for cyber attacks. Learn how the James Pascoe Group lost access to their own IT systems, forcing Whitcoulls, Pascoes Jewellers, and Stewart Dawsons stores to go cash-only.

If you’re running a business in Aotearoa, chances are cyber risks are already knocking at your door. Simpson Grierson paints a stark picture of how the cyber threat landscape is changing in 2025.

AI (Artificial Intelligence) has now emerged as a powerful tool in many fields, including cybersecurity. But it also has a dark side. It is being used to make cyber-attacks more sophisticated and dangerous.

In today’s digital age, the importance of cybersecurity cannot be overstated. With cyber threats becoming increasingly sophisticated, it’s crucial to ensure that your financial advisor is not only knowledgeable about finances but also cyber resilient. Here’s why you should only use cyber resilient financial advisors and how to identify them.

Moving to the cloud is like a double-edged sword. On one hand, it makes our lives easier. Data is accessible from anywhere, systems can scale up quickly, and there’s less hardware to worry about. On the other hand, it opens the door to new risks if not managed properly.

An update to the classic carol “Twelve Days of Christmas” for the cyber-age. With apologies to the original authors 🙂

Seasons greetings from Outfox to all of our customers.

We’ve all heard the cybersecurity buzzwords – resilience, robust protection, comprehensive security. But what does it actually mean to be cyber ready in today’s threat landscape?

Everyone knows cybersecurity training is important. But here’s what most businesses don’t realise – basic compliance training could be giving you a false sense of security while leaving you more vulnerable than ever.

The holiday season can be a hectic time, which means cybercriminals will be increasing their efforts to scam you. Stay vigilant – if something feels off, trust your instincts and verify before acting!

Cyber resilience is no longer optional; it’s a survival necessity in 2024. Our recent research paper “MSP Insights on Cyber Resilience” shows a troubling gap between the cybersecurity readiness and the growing threat landscape of Small to Medium Enterprise (SME) businesses.

Here’s a hard truth: your expensive security software can’t protect against human nature. The Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) keeps saying it: human error leads to most serious data breaches. CERT NZ agrees, confirming $3.6 million was lost to unauthorised access attacks in just three months (Q2 2024).

Your worst business nightmare isn’t a recession or new competition. It’s a cyber attack that brings everything crashing down overnight. Let’s break down what really happens when cyber criminals hit your business…

Outfox, New Zealand’s award-winning cyber resilience company, is thrilled to announce the launch of the world’s first Cyber Resilience Aware certification.

A recent bad update from cyber security company CrowdStrike for their Falcon software caused PCs to become unusable, able only to display the so-called “blue screen of death” or “BSOD”.

A record-breaking collection of stolen passwords has just been published. Dubbed “RockYou2024”, it contains a record-breaking total of 10 billion stolen passwords.

CERT NZ say they have reports of people receiving phone calls which appear to be from 0800 CERT NZ (0800 2378 69), which is CERT NZ’s official phone number. This is a scam.

CERT NZ are warning of a file sharing phishing campaign in NZ. Compromised accounts are being used to send phishing messages from trusted or known contacts. The phishing messages will appear to be a Microsoft OneDrive or SharePoint file sharing invitation from someone you know, inviting you to access a …

We’re honoured to be a finalist for the Bx Business xCellence Awards for the second year running in the IT Services, App Development & Software Development category. We were up against some stiff international competition. Over 1,000 international entries, and we bubbled to the top!

Cybercrime causes businesses to lose customers. When a customer’s sensitive information is stolen from a business, they quickly lose trust in that business and go elsewhere. What’s more, it can take weeks or months to recover your business systems after a major attack.

Apple device owners are reporting a new cyberattack, which combines “MFA bombing” with faked phone calls from Apple Support.

Entered any online radio competitions? Voted online for contestants in a TV show? If so, you are more than likely to be impacted by the recent MediaWorks data breach. MediaWorks own many of NZ’s popular radio stations, and are often involved in TV show tie-ins, like voting in The Block …

When the opportunity to sponsor the Tasman women’s 50s age group masters hockey team came about, here is why we said yes!

Security researchers have located a record-breaking cache of stolen user data on the dark web. The data includes stolen usernames, passwords, and personally identifiable information and contains around 26 billion records.

Many popular Australian high-profile fashion, food, and entertainment companies are currently undergoing a cyberattack, with breached user accounts being used to purchase goods online. At least 15,000 users are believed to have been affected so far, with the number still growing as of at the time of this article. Companies …

What is Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) and how does it help you stay secure when using the Internet?

As the year comes to a close, here in the Outfox den we are reflecting on the year that’s been. We have helped lots of businesses stay one step ahead of the cyber criminals, in what has been a boomer year for cyber-crime.

The last part of our rebrand from Intelligensia to Outfox is complete, with this, our brand new website. We decided to build from scratch, rather than trying to rebrand and update the old site with the new name and corporate colours. This included switching to a new underlying platform, and …

The holiday season is a time of celebration, but it’s also a peak period for cyber threats that can jeopardise the security of small to medium-sized businesses and organisations. While you’re busy spreading festive cheer, cyber criminals are on the lookout for opportunities to exploit vulnerabilities. In this blog post, …

We are thrilled to announce that Outfox has been honoured with the “Start-Up or New Business of the Year” award at the prestigious iSANZ award ceremony, held on Tuesday 14th of November.

Our journey began as Intelligensia, where we prided ourselves on delivering intelligent cyber resilience solutions to our valued clients. Today, we embark on a new chapter, evolving our identity to better reflect our values, goals, and vision for the future. Say hello to Outfox.

A multi-national task force led by the FBI have announced that they have successfully taken down the botnet known as Qakbot. The botnet was used for a variety of cybercrimes, resulting in losses of hundreds of millions of dollars to individuals and businesses.

We’re changing our name from Intelligensia to Outfox! The old name was hard to spell and hard to type. It also caused a degree of confusion in search engines, which had a tendency to auto-correct it to “intelligentsia”, and then include results on 19th century intellectuals!

Do not install the macOS app “OfficeNote”. This is fake app and will infect your Mac with the “XLoader” information stealer and botnet malware.

The Barbie movie is a hit, and not just with movie goers. McAfee say they have seen a surge in Barbie-related scams, as scammers try to cash in on the pink phenomena just as much as Hollywood. Any popular event is good for scammers, and the Barbie movie is a …

Canon have warned that nearly 200 of their home, office, and large-format inkjet printer models have a bug which means network details are not necessarily wiped when you do a factory reset. This could be an issue if you hand your printer off to a third-party, such as sell it, …

The Aotearoa NZ government has announced that two government cyber security agencies are to merge. The change is one of the outcomes from the recent report of the Cabinet’s independent Cyber Security Advisory Committee.

We’re beefing up our blogging game! Keep watch for information about the latest threats, advice on how to make your business more cyber resilient, and news about the NZ cybersecurity scene.

When natural disasters occur, everyone wants to give a little to help. Sometimes the best thing we can do is donate money. It’s at times like these that scammers like to take advantage of well-meaning folk. Whenever a major event happens fake charity posts and emails start appearing. You can …

The words ‘cyber security’ get a lot of use in the media these days, but for most people it can be a confusing term, best left to the experts. What does it mean, and can you be proactive in its implementation?

Cybercriminals are the epitome of the Christmas Grinch. They love this time of year because it is so easy to trick unsuspecting people into clicking on their fake emails and texts.

At least $35 million was lost to scams and fraud in New Zealand this year, according to Netsafe. The online safety organisation said there had been a 90% increase in reports of scams, fraud and online harm this year compared to 2021.

Congratulations to Jan Thornborough on becoming a finalist at the New Zealand Women in Security Awards 2022 for Best Security Mentor, alongside Ivy Macapagal from ESR – Science and Research, Amina Aggarwal from Spark and Robyn Campbell from PwC New Zealand.

Cybercriminals have no qualms about stooping to the lowest of the low to trick you into clicking on their fake (phishing) emails. Criminals have created compelling relief-related content to fool you into clicking on their malicious links and attachments. They rely on the assumption that this is an emotional time …

The financial industry got the hard word on cybersecurity and were warned of the dangers cyber attacks on their finances, clients and reputations. Speaking at a webinar organised by Financial Advice New Zealand, Jan Thornborough from Outfox (formerly Intelligensia) ” says a “Cyber attack is like a heart attack for …

While most of us were on holiday or just cowering from the rain over the long weekend, cyber criminals were busy launching ‘carding attacks’ against fundraising websites. A carding attack is where criminals have a database of stolen credit card numbers and automated tools that systematically try one-dollar donations on …

Unscrupulous individuals and gangs of cybercriminals use fundraising payment sites to test stolen credit card numbers. They have automated ways of making a $1 donation from each card to see if it bounces. They have lists of thousands of stolen credit card numbers that they try consecutively.

We all enjoy an online game or two, right? How often do you see people playing a game of some sort on their phone or laptop while they wait for their bus, takeaways, or for their coffee to arrive? More importantly, how many are using their work devices to play …

It’s our go-to protection when the autumn leaves fall and the temperature drops. Winter is coming, and we need additional layers of protection to stay safe and warm. It’s the same for your computer network. Cyber criminals don’t care what the weather is doing. If you only have a light …

Online scammers are using increasingly sophisticated techniques to lure their targets into providing money, access, and information. It may only take a few seconds for you to open a malicious email attachment, but the results can be personally and financially devastating. Having an awareness of the common tricks and traps …

It’s that time again when the unprepared amongst us have only just realised that it’s Mother’s Day. Quick! Jump online and type in “gift for mum”. You will get a dizzying array of offers popping up. Some will be legitimate, and some will be scammers trying to steal your credit …

You’ve probably all experienced it. The smallest kid in the school gets picked on by the bullies. It’s the same with cyber criminals. They are the bullies, and small businesses are the victims of their cyber attacks. There is a misconception that cyber criminals only go after big organisations. Not …

Sitting in my home office I noticed a cheeky thrush hopping along the fence with a juicy red globe in its mouth. It took me a wee while to realise that this feathered criminal was quietly, and repeatedly picking off the precious first grape harvest that I have been lovingly …

Representing New Zealand, our very own Jan, in her former role at the NZ National Cyber Security Centre, discussed with fellow ‘Five Eyes’ agencies global vulnerabilities, shared experiences and differences to approaches to boost global cyber attack resilience.