// CONFIRMED RANSOMWARE ATTACKS · COUNTRY
Ransomnews has confirmed 35 ransomware attacks in New Zealand between July 2018 and March 2026, each one verified against a public source such as a breach notification, regulatory filing, court record or press report. That is 0.4% of the 9,520 confirmed incidents in the dataset. So far in 2026, 3 have been confirmed, against 5 in 2025 and 8 in 2024. The most affected sector is retail, with 6 confirmed victims (17%). Auckland is the city with the most confirmed victims, at 14. Where the operator is attributed, LockBit leads with 6 confirmed victims. No ransom payment is on the public record; a refusal is recorded in 7 cases and the outcome is unrecorded in the remaining 28.
Confirmed ransomware attacks in New Zealand by year
The current year is a partial count. Confirmation lags the attack itself, so recent months keep filling in after the fact; read a low figure for the latest year as incomplete rather than as a decline.
| Year | Confirmed attacks | Ransom paid (public) | Ransom refused (public) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| 2021 | 6 | 0 | 2 |
| 2022 | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 2024 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 2026 (year to date) | 3 | 0 | 0 |
Which ransomware groups attack organisations in New Zealand most
The operator is attributed in 29 of the 35 confirmed incidents. Counts are confirmed victims, not leak-site claims, so they run well below the totals the groups publish about themselves. Group names link to the live Ransomtracker profile where one exists.
Most active groups by confirmed victims
Where the confirmed attacks in New Zealand fall
Most affected sectors
Cities with the most confirmed victims
Ransom payment outcomes in New Zealand
Among the 7 confirmed incidents in New Zealand where the outcome is on the public record, 0 paid and 7 refused, a disclosed payment rate of 0%. The remaining 28 carry no public statement either way. Victims that pay have every incentive to stay quiet and public bodies are the most likely to announce a refusal, so treat this as the disclosed rate, not the true one. The ransomware payment rate analysis explains how the disclosed rate has moved since 2018 and how it compares with incident-response firm samples.
Largest confirmed ransomware attacks in New Zealand by records exposed
Record counts are recorded only where a named source disclosed them, which is the minority of cases, so this table ranks disclosed impact rather than true impact.
| Date | Organisation | Sector | Location | Records | Group | Ransom paid | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2021 | Waikato District Health Board | Healthcare | Hamilton, New Zealand | 4,200 | Conti | No | rnz.co.nz |
| September 2024 | Bennett Currie | Finance | Palmerston North, New Zealand | 1,000 | RansomHub | Unknown | cyberdaily.au |
| July 2021 | Department of Conservation (Search and Rescue Base at Aoraki/Mount Cook) | Government | Mount Cook, New Zealand | 11 | — | Unknown | databreaches.net |
Most recent confirmed ransomware attacks in New Zealand
The 25 most recently confirmed of 35 incidents, newest first. Every row links to the public source it was verified against.
| Date | Organisation | Sector | Location | Records | Group | Ransom paid | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 2026 | IntraCare | Healthcare | Auckland, New Zealand | — | The Gentlemen | Unknown | intracare.co.nz |
| January 2026 | McKay | Service | Whangarei, New Zealand | — | MNT6 | Unknown | cyberdaily.au |
| January 2026 | Langley Twigg Law | Legal | Ahuriri, New Zealand | — | Anubis | Unknown | langleytwigg.co.nz |
| July 2025 | Lamberts Business Systems | Technology | Palmerston North, New Zealand | — | INC | Unknown | cyberdaily.au |
| May 2025 | Waiwhetu Medical Centre | Healthcare | Lower Hutt, New Zealand | — | INC | Unknown | facebook.com |
| March 2025 | Vercoe Insurance Brokers | Finance | Morrinsville, New Zealand | — | DragonForce | Unknown | cyberdaily.au |
| February 2025 | Hudson Gavin Martin | Legal | Auckland, New Zealand | — | RansomHub | Unknown | cyberdaily.au |
| January 2025 | Bell & Graham | Legal | Matamata, New Zealand | — | SafePay | Unknown | cyberdaily.au |
| December 2024 | Maximum Availability Limited (Maxava) | Technology | Auckland, New Zealand | — | — | Unknown | mass.gov |
| December 2024 | Compass Communications | Utilities | Auckland, New Zealand | — | RA World | Unknown | cyberdaily.au |
| October 2024 | Triton Sourcing & Distribution | Retail | Auckland, New Zealand | — | SafePay | Unknown | cyberdaily.au |
| October 2024 | Advanced Accounting & Business Advisory Limited | Finance | Feilding, New Zealand | — | Sarcoma | Unknown | cyberdaily.au |
| September 2024 | Bennett Currie | Finance | Palmerston North, New Zealand | 1,000 | RansomHub | Unknown | cyberdaily.au |
| July 2024 | Competenz | Education | Newmarket, New Zealand | — | LockBit | Unknown | competenz.org.nz |
| June 2024 | Elite Fitness | Other | Auckland, New Zealand | — | DragonForce | Unknown | cyberdaily.au |
| May 2024 | Smith & Caugheys | Retail | Auckland, New Zealand | — | LockBit | Unknown | nzherald.co.nz |
| September 2023 | Auckland University of Technology | Education | Auckland, New Zealand | — | Monti | Unknown | thethaiger.com |
| September 2023 | Auckland Transport | Government | Auckland, New Zealand | — | Medusa | No | rnz.co.nz |
| November 2022 | Mercury IT | Technology | Auckland, New Zealand | — | LockBit | Unknown | scoop.co.nz |
| September 2022 | Pinnacle Midlands Health Network | Healthcare | Hamilton, New Zealand | — | ALPHV/BlackCat | Unknown | nzherald.co.nz |
| May 2022 | Enlighten Designs | Technology | Hamilton, New Zealand | — | — | Unknown | reseller.co.nz |
| February 2022 | iTCo | Technology | Rotorua, New Zealand | — | — | Unknown | 1news.co.nz |
| January 2022 | NZ Uniforms | Retail | Wellington, New Zealand | — | Conti | No | stuff.co.nz |
| January 2022 | New Zealand Uniforms | Retail | Wellington, New Zealand | — | Conti | Unknown | stuff.co.nz |
| August 2021 | Inline Plumbing | Service | Christchurch, New Zealand | — | LockBit | Unknown | stuff.co.nz |
Frequently asked questions
How many ransomware attacks in New Zealand have been confirmed?
Ransomnews has confirmed 35 ransomware attacks in New Zealand since July 2018, including 3 so far in 2026. Each one is verified against a public source such as a breach notification, regulatory filing or press report. The true total is higher, because many victims never disclose; confirmed counts are a floor, not a ceiling.
Which ransomware group is most active in New Zealand?
LockBit, with 6 confirmed victims, followed by Conti (3) and DragonForce (2). These are confirmed victims, not leak-site claims, counted among the 29 incidents where the operator is attributed.
Which sector is hit most by ransomware in New Zealand?
Retail, with 6 confirmed incidents (17% of the total). Technology follows with 5, then Finance with 4.
Which cities in New Zealand have the most confirmed ransomware attacks?
Auckland (14), Hamilton (3), Wellington (3), Christchurch (2), Palmerston North (2). City is recorded where the victim organisation is headquartered or the incident was reported, so distributed organisations are counted once.
How often do ransomware victims in New Zealand pay the ransom?
Among the 7 confirmed incidents in New Zealand with a public outcome, 0 paid and 7 refused, a disclosed payment rate of 0%. Most victims never state whether they paid, and those who pay have the least reason to say so, so the disclosed rate understates real payment behaviour. The payment rate analysis tracks this figure since 2018.
What is the largest confirmed New Zealand ransomware attack by records exposed?
Waikato District Health Board (Hamilton, New Zealand, May 2021), with 4,200 records exposed according to rnz.co.nz. Record counts exist only where a source disclosed them, so this ranks disclosed impact.
How to read this page. Every incident counted here was verified by Ransomnews against at least one public source. Leak-site listings alone do not qualify, because operators inflate, duplicate and occasionally fabricate claims, so these totals are a defensible floor rather than a full census. Records exposed and ransom outcomes appear only where a named source disclosed them. The page is regenerated from the live database, which refreshes weekly. Cite as: Ransomnews Confirmed Ransomware Attacks Dataset, ransomnews.com, with a link to this page. Bulk access and methodology questions: [email protected]. See also the monthly ransomware statistics and the Ransomtracker.