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Summary
- NZX failed to open at its usual timing of 10:00 am due to connection issues between its clearing and settlement system.
- The trading of shares on NZX and Fonterra Shareholders Markets was temporarily delayed.
- NZX had suffered a series of cyber-attacks in August and September over consecutive days compelling NZX website to go offline and halting trading.
On 14 December, NZX postponed the opening of the share market until 11:30 am due to technical glitches and issues on the interface between its clearing and settlement and trading systems.
The stock market operator declared that the main Board and Fonterra Shareholder market would not open at the usual 10:00 am schedule and the “pre-open” would be extended.
Source: Shutterstock
However, the Stock exchange stated that the issue was not related to cyberattacks that disrupted trading, three months earlier.
NZX had gone through a range of cyberattacks in August and September, making it necessary to introduce a backup site.
Repeated DDoS attacks on NZX
Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks are cyber-attacks where an extensive array of computers tries to connect to an online service at once, crushing its capacity. They frequently make use of devices that are compromised by malware, which owners do not know are part of the attack.
NZX was hit by large DDoS attacks for consecutive days in August, that resulted in the closing of the stock market and thus, topping many from trading. The cyber attackers wanted a ransom paid in bitcoin, and many NZX listed companies came under fire.
Source: Shutterstock
The attacks were suspected of coming from offshore sources, as per NZ government agencies. However, the exact source of the attack remained unknown.
ALSO READ: It happens again, NZX being bullied by Cyber-attackers- Down for the fourth day
The motive behind the attack remained unclear. Nevertheless, NZ cybersecurity organisation Cert NZ refused to comment on the attacks but provided advice for organisations under DDoS attack.
Cert NZ had issued warnings in November last year about threatening emails sent to financial firms to shut down NZX unless a ransom is paid.
Mark Peterson Chief Executive of NZX, stated that the cyber-attacks that affected the NZ stock exchange in 2020 were unusual. On 2 December investor day, he stated that when he joined the Company, he did feel that it needed to make operations simpler and refocus on its core markets business to grow.
Mr Peterson has overseen the sale of redundant assets like newspapers, magazines, and Australian grain-trading business, got rid of obstacles in NZX’s growth and made investments in the fund management operations of the exchange to help in developing the market.
