A tech commentator has said there isn't much Kiwis can do about a flaw that has put almost all computers and smartphones in the country at risk of being hacked.

Global vulnerabilities revealed last week within computer chip processors theoretically allow hackers to steal sensitive data - although no data breaches have been reported.

This includes all Apple products and a huge number of Microsoft computers.

Technology commentator Paul Brislen thinks this vulnerability highlights how reliant we are on companies and manufacturers to protect our private data.

He said that we can't necessarily believe they won't take shortcuts that put us at risk.

"We can trust these companies to be companies. They will always put profit ahead of everything else," Mr Brislen said.

"Everything else is secondary to making shareholder returns on investments."