Wellington, Oct 15 (IANS): New Zealand has intensified the crackdown on cybercrime with a legislation's first reading on Tuesday, as 11 per cent of Kiwis were victims of fraud and cybercrime in 2023, causing significant financial harm and emotional distress, official statistics show.

By joining the Budapest Convention, also known as the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime, New Zealand is signalling to other like-minded countries that it takes cybercrime seriously and is prepared to do its part to eliminate it, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Budapest Convention is the only binding international treaty on cybercrime, aligning member countries' laws and making it easier for them to cooperate on criminal investigations, Goldsmith said.

The bill contains provisions to ensure New Zealand's domestic laws meet the requirements of the convention, which include enabling law enforcement agencies to require companies to preserve records that could be evidence of offending.

Amendments to the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act will enhance New Zealand's ability to seek assistance from foreign countries for criminal investigations and assist in return.

"It will help our law enforcement agencies to protect New Zealanders by providing the tools they need to detect, investigate, and prosecute criminal offending, even when it happens online," Goldsmith said.