Phil Goff's emails hacked - 15,000 emails over 12 years offered for sale
Emails apparently sent and received by Auckland mayor Phil Goff over a 12-year period have been offered with a $20,000 price tag and appear to contain deeply personal information alongside council and Parliamentary work.
Communications sent to the Herald suggest there has been a complete grab of Goff's inbox and sent folders. Among many other topics, they appear to include fundraising plans for Goff's mayoral bid, "confidential" polling data during last year's campaign and sensitive business information. The seller claims to have more than 15,000 emails from an Xtra account in Goff's name with the database spanning from 2007 to 2019. Evidence sent by the seller and examined by the Herald appears to confirm the claims. It is unknown if the seller has offered the emails to other businesses or individuals. Goff would not be interviewed over the alleged breach. In a statement, his chief of staff Nirupa George referred to the Herald revelation as an "alleged hack of his family email account". "Like thousands of other account holders across the country he assumed the service provider's email platform was secure. While the authenticity of the hack has not been verified, the Mayor has discontinued use of the email account and taken advice from experts. "This matter is now subject to investigation by the police and other relevant agencies." Information provided by the would-be seller of Goff's emails appears to show the mayor used his Xtra email address during the time he was a government minister, while leader of the Labour Party, as an MP and since becoming Mayor of Auckland. When asked how it was obtained, the person responded: "The data was forwarded to me by a friend. In email conversations, the person claimed: "I have every sent and received email from 2007 - Oct 2019 including all attachments. "Considering the amount of information and the exclusivity of it I think a fair price would be $20k NZD, but happy to negotiate." The media does not engage in chequebook journalism. Our editorial today explains the rationale of why referencing the emails is of strong public interest.
The media has told Goff's office it will not buy the database and has discontinued contact with the person claiming to hold the information. The person claiming to hold the database sent examples of the material and text files containing subject lines of documents claimed to be in the Inbox and Outbox of Goff's Xtra account. The subject lines in the material appear to show information from Goff's time as Minister of Defence in 2007 through to late 2019. It also shows the database apparently holds personal information, including medical information, personal finances and photographs. Among the emails provided were two dealing with campaign financing. One began with the line: "Team all emails should be on personal addresses or those that cannot be subject to an official information request". Goff appears to have received the email in his Xtra account and sent it to his executive assistant's email account at Parliament.The emails provided also included what appeared to be one sent to Goff as mayor and containing sensitive commercial information about a council transport contract. A purported attached document included specific dollar amounts bid for a transport contract. The media contacted Spark after it had confirmed the emails on offer were likely to be genuine. A spokeswoman for Spark, which provides customers with Xtra email accounts, said: "In line with our security protocols, when we were made aware of this issue we contacted the customer and suspended the account.
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Neighbourhood Challenge: Who Can Crack This One? ⛓️💥❔
What has a head but no brain?
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Poll: 🗑️ Would you be keen to switch to a fortnightly rubbish collection, or do you prefer things as they are?
Aucklanders, our weekly rubbish collections are staying after councillors voted to scrap a proposed trial of fortnightly pick-ups.
We want to hear from you: would you be keen to switch to a fortnightly rubbish collection, or do you prefer things as they are?
Keen for the details? Read up about the scrapped collection trial here.
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83.3% Same!
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16.7% Would have liked to try something different
7 tips for buying your Christmas ham
It’s the centerpiece of the Christmas table, so when you’re peering into the supermarket chiller or ordering from the butcher, choosing the perfect ham can feel like a daunting task.
Here are some things to keep in mind when choosing one to bring home with you.
1. What type of ham to buy
You’ve got some decisions to make when it comes to the type of Christmas ham you’re going to buy.
Cooked on the bone (COB) ham is the traditional Christmas ham. If you’re buying a half ham, you’ll have the choice of the shank or fillet end. The shank is the part with the bone sticking out that gives the ham that traditional look. The fillet end is the round part that gives more meat. If you’re deciding whether to get a whole ham or half, consider how quickly you’ll be able to eat it all. You only have about a week to eat an opened ham before it will go off, so it can be a good idea to get two halves. That way you can eat one half during the week of Christmas and save the other for January.
Champagne ham has had the bone removed and only has the hock left on, so it’s easier to carve.
Pressed ham – also known as continental ham – has had the bones removed and has been pressed, so it’s also easy to carve.
2. Check the pork percentage
The label on a packaged ham will say what percentage is actually meat. Hams are injected with brine, to keep them moist, and additives. The brine injection level for manufactured hams is usually between 10% and 35% of the ham's weight. A manufacturer that wants to produce a cheap ham will add more water to bump up the weight.
3. Know how to tell if it’s New Zealand pork
By far, most of the hams bought in New Zealand this Christmas will be from pigs reared overseas. New Zealand imports pork from about 25 countries. It’s frustrating for New Zealand pig farmers because this ham can come from farms that don’t have to meet the same animal welfare standards as we have in this country. As a result, overseas meat is often cheaper.
If buying New Zealand pork is important to you, look for:
words on the packaging like ‘New Zealand pork’ or ‘born and raised in New Zealand’
4. Have a good look at the ham
If you’re going to be glazing your ham, look for one that is covered in a finger-thick layer of fat. This will give you the thickness you need to make good score lines.
New Zealand Pork’s website also advises looking for a ham that has a meaty texture rather than one that looks wet or rubbery. It says the ham’s skin should be smooth with even colouring. “If the knuckle is sunken, it may be overcooked. If the rind is buckled or uneven, it may be a sign of dryness.”
5. Ask a lot of questions
If you’re ordering your pork from a butcher, you probably won’t be able to compare hams like you would at the supermarket. So, make sure you ask lots of questions, now that you know what you’re looking for.
You could ask:
Is the ham made from New Zealand born and farmed pork?
What will be its injection percentage?
What flavours will it have?
You could even ask if there’s a glaze the butcher thinks would work particularly well with those flavours.
6. Know what size you’ll need
If the ham is the only meat on your Christmas menu, New Zealand Pork advises allowing 1kg of ham for five people. Or if you’ve got other meat options, 1kg will feed about six to eight people.
7. Know the best hams in New Zealand
The best hams of the year were awarded at the 100% New Zealand Bacon & Ham Awards earlier in the year so you can check out which ones got medals. Some of them are only available in the city the butcher is based, but a Farmland boneless ham available nationwide won a gold award and Woolworths bone-in and boneless hams picked up bronze.
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