‘Unconfirmed’ reports say Wannacry has struck NZ

The first reports are coming in of Wannacry ransomware impacting computer users in New Zealand.

Government cyber-security agency CERT NZ said it had received a ‘‘small number’’ of reports from Kiwi computer users who said they had been infected by the malware.

Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment spokeswoman Izzi Lithgow said CERT NZ was notified of the attacks yesterday and was looking into the complaints.

The infections had not yet been confirmed and the reports would be investigated on a case-by-case basis, she said. ‘‘We analyse every report we get and will follow our standard processes.’’

Prior to Monday, CERT NZ had said it had no reports of infections.

Lithgow was unable to provide further information about the complaints.

It was not clear whether the complaints might relate to new infections or whether the reports may have been made by businesses whose staff returned to work yesterday to find their IT systems had been previously infected with the ransomware.

CERT NZ reiterated advice for computer users to ensure their operating systems were patched and their files backed up.

The Wannacry ransomware attack was a massive attack that had hit the computer systems of private companies and public organisations around the world, it said.