Automobile Association (AA) Cybersecurity

The Business Problem

The New Zealand Automobile Association (NZAA) is one of New Zealand’s most trusted brands. Operating in an increasingly digital landscape, NZAA is more interconnected than ever before. Advancements in mobility and cloud services enable NZAA to stay relevant, productive, and collaborative for its members. However, this growing digital presence also heightens the challenge of safeguarding its members, partner services and brand.

The Fix

The NZAA board established the need for a 2-year cybersecurity strategy starting in July 2023 to evaluate and implement foundational protections to enable NZAA to accelerate their digital journey.

Luminate provided a specialist Programme Manager with experience in security assessment frameworks and delivering large, complex cybersecurity programmes tailored to a company’s requirements.

The Outcome

A busy first year implementing several measures from the Center for Internet Security (CIS) that included a Security Awareness program, Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) platform, Secure Email solution, adopting MFA, Passphrases and updating, creating and training staff in 18 IT policies aligned with CIS, and many other changes.

This programme of work involved not just technology but a comprehensive education and change management programme.

Lessons Learned

  1. Placing people at the forefront of decisions when implementing security measures across the organisation significantly reduced friction in deploying changes and technology, while also increasing the speed of adoption.
  2. The programme prioritised people, selecting skilled subject matter experts (SMEs), leveraging creative problem-solving, and enabling individuals to play to their strengths and participate in the decision-making process.
  3. By addressing the “why” and providing engaging content—such as videos and TED Talk-style presentations—the programme showcased how security measures implemented at NZAA can also be applied at home to protect friends and family.
  4. Highly visible sponsorship by the Board and Executive emphasised the benefits of the programme, fostering a culture of security awareness throughout the organisation.

Customer Feedback

Automobile Association’s Security Uplift project nominated for iSANZ Security Project or Security Awareness Initiative of the Year.