A concerning press release circulated on the 11th of September detailing the recovery of a list of contact details for firearms license holders who reside in the lower North Island. The list of 20 license holders was recovered last Monday and is a concerning but not unprecedented occurrence of criminals seeking to target firearms license holders via the procurement of sensitive information.

This is a timely reminder that all firearms license holders need to be vigilant in maintaining not only their physical security arrangements but also their information security. It is also a timely reminder for those that have access to license holder information to exercise great care in how they handle and store this sensitive information.

We are relieved that the source of this information is most unlikely to be the Firearms Safety Authority, as the list contained out-of-date data when checked with the data held by the Authority.

However, we hold grave concerns that this may just be the tip of the iceberg and that criminals are placing greater value on procuring license-holder information from less protected sources. Whilst the TTP is the obvious target for criminals conducting intelligence gathering, it may not be the most practical target.

Firearms license data is handled by a variety of Government agencies such as the Police, the New Zealand Customs Service, and the Department of Conservation however, sensitive information is also held privately by medical practitioners, insurance companies, gun club and range management, firearms dealers and their staff, as well as courier and freight services that deliver firearms and ammunition to individuals and businesses.

All these entities as well as others hold sensitive information on Licensed Firearms Owners, and all these entities have differing levels of security associated with the possession, handling, transmission, and disposal of this sensitive information. This means that some are deemed to be the weak link for criminals looking to acquire sensitive information.

Information security is only effective when there is no weak link; the Sporting Shooters Association of New Zealand calls for all entities that store or handle sensitive license information to review their information security procedures and eliminate unnecessary security risks.

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