WELLINGTON, Aug 3 (Reuters) - New Zealand's central bank has decided to cancel media "lock-ups" for interest rate decisions and financial stability reports after a security review followed a leak of information last March.
The central bank said it commissioned the review after requests by news media representatives to restore the lock-ups under different security arrangements. The security review was conducted by consulting firm Deloitte.
"The review found that in the rapidly changing technology environment there is no completely failsafe option, and that over time the extent of risk mitigation through controls will be eroded by advances in technology," it said in a release on Wednesday.
Media "lock ups" are press conferences in which information is distributed to reporters in a secure environment where communications by phone or computer are severed, allowing time for analysis and report writing, ahead of a set publication time for all participants.
The bank suspended lock-ups in April after an independent investigation had found that a Newshub Mediaworks reporter at the RBNZ lock-up on March 10 had provided information on an official interest rate cut to several other people in the New Zealand multimedia news company's office.
The central bank will release the information to the market electronically in the future.
