Confidence

Goal

To provide all New Zealanders with the digital skills and confidence to find and use the information they need; and to ensure that telecommunications and the Internet in New Zealand are reliable and secure.

Targets

Capability

• To improve New Zealanders’ digital literacy through ICT training and education programmes, including Digital Horizons initiatives.
• To address skill shortages in the ICT industry through the Fluency in IT (FIT) programme, starting in 2005.

Security

• From 2005, to launch the National Computer Security Campaign for home users and small businesses.
• To pass anti-spam legislation by 2006.

Challenge

Capability and security are essential for all New Zealanders to use ICT and benefit from it. They must possess the necessary ICT skills and have the confidence to use them.

For us to realise the productivity gains and social advantages that ICT offers, we must boost New Zealanders’ capability to use ICT and give them good reason to feel safe and secure in the online world.

Digital literacy is an essential life skill, just like being able to read and write. It is both an economic and a social necessity. Without it, there is a risk that people will be cut off from job opportunities and unable to take part in the full life of the community.

The government is already investing heavily in education and skills training. Polytechnics and high schools provide community computing courses to get people started and keep them learning. Programmes like Computers in Homes have already proved their worth. One computer in a household can transform the opportunities of a whole family. One computer-literate child gains access to a different future.

Whilst it is important to emphasise ICT skills in education, we also need to improve the skills of people already in work, from senior management to front-line staff. Many young people have a higher level of digital literacy than the rest of the population - but 80% of today’s workforce will still be working in 10 years’ time. We can’t rely on the skills of people entering the workforce to bring about the change we need. It is essential to bring all New Zealanders along with us. Done well, up-skilling today’s workers will enable more people to make a better contribution, improving labour productivity and the quality of our working lives. ¹²

Skills are also a problem in the ICT industry itself. Already there is a significant gap between the number of ICT jobs available and the number of suitably qualified applicants. Forecasts suggest this problem will get much worse unless measures are taken.¹³ We will therefore ensure that digital literacy is part of education at all levels and in all kinds of training, and take into account the needs of particular communities and people with disabilities.¹⁴

But skills and education, although important, are not enough. New threats are emerging to undermine our confidence online. Although the Internet offers great benefits, it is subject to the malign actions of spammers, virus writers, and fraudsters.These days, three-quarters of unfiltered email is spam. Criminals have gained access to a new world of scams such as phishing¹⁵ and banking fraud. The government is working with others on training programmes and awareness campaigns to address these threats.

Much of the crime on the Internet operates across national boundaries, so we need to co-operate with law enforcement agencies in other countries to protect New Zealanders from fraud, theft, vandalism, and cyber attack. The government can do its part through legislation and enforcement.¹⁶ The government plans to introduce a bill in 2005 to combat spam, and will co-operate closely with other countries on these matters.

The Internet and telecommunications infrastructure in New Zealand is run by the private sector. While the government has a role to play, safety and security are everyone's responsibility.¹⁷

Link to Case Study - Hector’s World – security

Businesses that use the Internet to supply services to customers are taking security issues more and more seriously. Banks are using more secure ways of accessing online banking, such as texting a one-time access code to the user before they log on, to protect their customers.

Other risks, ranging from viruses to accidental exposure to online pornography, affect all Internet users. Children can be exposed to harmful content with a click of the mouse. The Internet Safety Group develops programmes like Hector’s World to warn children of the dangers of the Internet and help us protect them from harm, and also runs cybersafety courses for adults.

ICT can be a force for environmental improvement by enabling us to use resources more efficiently and reducing the amount of energy we use. But there are serious environmental and health impacts to be dealt with.  The ICT industry needs to deal with environmental considerations at every stage, from design and manufacturing through to disposal.

With a strong alliance of government, community, and business organisations, we can raise people’s awareness about safety and security. Well-informed users can manage their own security risks better and take full advantage of the online experience.

Actions - Capability

Actions – Security

¹² For more information on the link between digital literacy and labour productivity, see the Workplace Productivity Challenge, Report of the Workplace Productivity Working Group, Department of Labour, 2004.

¹³ ICT jobs in 2012 are estimated at 125,000 compared with 41,000 at present.

 ¹⁴ For example, the telecommunications relay service introduced in 2004 has opened up new possibilities for the participation of deaf, hearing-impaired, and speech-impaired people.

¹⁵ See glossary on this website .

¹⁶ Recent legislation to improve online security include the Electronic Transactions Act 2003, making it easier to do business online, and the amendments to the Crimes Act in 2005 that made breaking into computer systems a criminal offence.

¹⁷ See OECD Guidelines for the Security of Information Systems and Networks: Towards a Culture of Security http://webdomino1.oecd.org/COMNET/STI/IccpSecu.nsf?OpenDatabase.

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