April 18, 2023
Māori data concern in cyber-crime treaty
A Māori cyber-security expert is warning of dangers for Māori if New Zealand signs up to the Budapest Convention.
The Government is considering signing the international treaty which aims to protect signatories from crimes committed or enabled via the Internet – such as cyber fraud, computer related fraud, terrorism, and child pornography.
Te Taka Keegan, an associate professor of computer science at Waikato University, says membership wold allow other signatories to intercept and access New Zealand computer networks if they believe a crime has been committed.
He says given the history of Māori being falsely accused to terrorism and other crimes, there needs to be some protections to ensure it is not used to collect data on or target Māori protest leaders.
“It’s pretty much open access, and it’s that open access that is quite concerning – in terms of privacy – but then there’s the bigger picture as well in terms of Māori sovereignty over Māori data,” Dr Keegan says.
He says it has to be made clear what cyber crimes – and who and what data – can be tracked in any investigation.