Asked if a ransom demand had been made and, if so, whether it had entered negotiations, Langley Twigg said: \u201cOur focus remains on working with forensic specialists to understand exactly what was taken, supporting affected clients, and taking all available legal action to protect our clients\u2019 information. We continue to work closely with relevant authorities.\u201d<\/p>\n
300GB of data stolen<\/p>\n
In a judgment dated February 5, explaining the reasons for the interim injunction granted on February 4, Justice Dale La Hood said, \u201con January 11, 2026, one of [Langley Twigg\u2019s] staff noticed unusual activity and advised its IT provider. The IT provider discovered unauthorised activity, including a ransomware payload\u201d.<\/p>\n
It added, \u201cthe third party that has obtained the data is known as Anubis. Anubis demanded that negotiations be entered to prevent publishing of the data, and they put a sample of the data on the dark web\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cPreliminary analysis indicates that approximately 300GB of data had been stolen.\u201d <\/p>\n
With basic images, 300GB is equivalent to around 600,000 pages of documents. <\/p>\n
The judgment added, \u201cother than the fact that the cyber attackers are known as Anubis, Langley Twigg does not know the identity of the people responsible for the attack\u201d.<\/p>\n
Justice La Hood noted Langley Twigg had set up an incident response team and was working with the Privacy Commissioner and police.<\/p>\n
The injunction was granted because, \u201cthere is clear evidence that sensitive, confidential and privileged information belonging to Langley Twigg and its clients has been unlawfully obtained by unknown parties in a cyber attack\u201d, Justice La Hood said.<\/p>\n
Client data accessed<\/p>\n
Langley Twigg Law said in a January 28 post on its website that it had been hit by a cyber attack on January 11.<\/p>\n
An investigation by an IT forensics expert \u201cconfirmed that some client data was copied from our file server. We are working to determine the full extent of what was accessed\u201d, the law firm said in an update on its website. It was anticipated the investigation would take weeks. <\/p>\n
Feldtmann, the founder of security firm Cybershore, and the president of the Wellington chapter of the Information Systems Audit and Control Association, is best known recently as the initiator of a petition for larger fines for data breaches.<\/p>\n
The petition was sparked by the Manage My Health breach. Labour MP Dr Ayesha Verrall has agreed to present it to Parliament.<\/p>\n
Langley Twigg said in a post on its website<\/a>, \u201cat the time of the attack, we were in the process of moving to a cloud-based document management system. We are accelerating our planned migration to enhanced cloud-based security infrastructure, which will reduce the risk of any future incidents\u201d.<\/p>\n Affected clients would be notified individually. Systems had been restored from backup copies.<\/p>\n Eroad CEO takes exit ramp<\/p>\n Eroad is losing the second of its two chief executives under its co-CEO model.<\/p>\n Mark Heine will step down in June after a four-year stint \u2013 18 months of which he shared power with David Kenneson, the head of the truck-tracking firm\u2019s American business, who resigned last October. Heine was formerly the NZX-listed truck-tracking firm\u2019s CFO. <\/p>\n Shares were down 5.8% to 98c in late trading. <\/p>\n In November, Eroad reported a $146 million first-half net loss (from its year-ago $11m loss), driven by a $135m goodwill impairment \u2013 \u201creflecting the termination of a legacy customer, competitive dynamics and economic conditions in the North American market\u201d.<\/p>\n Heine told the Herald that Eroad had lost a \u201clarge American customer\u201d that generated around $9m in revenue per year.<\/p>\n Tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump had reduced freight volumes in the US by 10%, Heine said. The customer had defected to a cheaper telematics solution. Eroad was largely folding sticks in the US to concentrate on Australia and New Zealand.<\/p>\n Heine also had to grapple with the cost of subsidising customer upgrades as partner One NZ moved to close its 3G network (a process still underway<\/a>). <\/p>\n Free cash flow was reported at $6.2m for the first half (versus $0.1m for year-ago period). An investor presentation said that without 4G upgrade costs, it would have been $16.7m.<\/p>\n He saw a bright new dawn, however, with the Government\u2019s push to expand road user charges to all cars from as early as 2027. Heine said Eroad could create a smart-tag for windshields for $40<\/a> in what would represent a big swing to the consumer market.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter almost 11 years at Eroad, I have decided the time is right to step down. This is a personal decision, made in consultation with the board,\u201d Heine said.<\/p>\n An NZX filing said the board will now begin a recruitment process.<\/p>\n Heine was formerly Eroad\u2019s general counsel. He became acting CEO \u2013 then eventually permanent \u2013 following the abrupt, unexplained departure of long-time boss Steven Newman in April 2022.<\/p>\n Collins permits 1000 rocket launches<\/p>\n In a departing gift to the aerospace industry, Space Minister Judith Collins has lifted the number of permitted rocket launches from 100 to 1000 per year.<\/p>\n Collins, who will leave Parliament mid-year to head the Law Commission, said the rise followed a review of space vehicle launch debris regulations. <\/p>\n Auckland University atmospheric chemistry professor Laura Revell said that, worldwide, there had been a three-fold increase in launches from 2019 (97) and 2025 (317). <\/p>\n A study she co-authored<\/a> predicted 1000 launches globally by 2030 under a \u201cconservative scenario\u201d which it said would cause a nearly 2% additional ozone depletion over Antarctica by 2030.<\/p>\n \u201cThe effects from NZ\u2019s launches alone are unlikely to cause widespread damage to the ozone layer,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cBut launch rates are also increasing overseas and the cumulative effects add up.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis is good thing on the face of it,\u201d Auckland University physics professor Richard Easther said.<\/p>\n \u201cNew Zealand is the only small country in the world with a commercial orbital launch provider using locally built rockets. This decision will help the tech sector and our science community develop the opportunities this remarkable achievement creates.\u201d<\/p>\n That launch provider is, of course, Rocket Lab.<\/p>\n Founder Sir Peter Beck will appreciate the extra wiggle room, but it might take some time before his firm can take advantage of it. Easther says it will be decades.<\/p>\n Rocket Lab has staged 87 launches since its Electron\u2019s first mission in 2017.<\/p>\n In 2025, Rocket Lab conducted 18 launches from its New Zealand site, Launch Complex 1 (LC-1) on the M\u0101hia Peninsula, an increase from 13 the previous year and a total of 21, including Electron launches from LC-2 in Virginia. <\/p>\n The Kiwi-American firm\u2019s larger Neutron rocket, due on the launchpad for its maiden mission this quarter, will launch exclusively from LC-3 in Virginia.<\/p>\n With funding tight across the board, Collins\u2019 role boosting the local aerospace industry has largely focused on cutting red tape (a contrast to the US where various states in which it operates, including Virginia and New Mexico, have shovelled<\/a> more than $100m in subsidies and grants Rocket Lab\u2019s way).<\/p>\n David Kirk\u2019s Bailador on a roll<\/p>\n David Kirk\u2019s Bailador Technology Investments has delivered a positive halftime report.<\/p>\n The former All Blacks captain and current Forsyth Barr, NZ Rugby and KMD Brands chairman, co-founded Bailador in 2011 with Paul Wilson \u2013 a venture capital cohort who had worked with Lachlan Murdoch \u2013 to invest in early-stage tech companies.<\/p>\n Its punts have included Auckland-based Straker.<\/p>\n For the first half of its financial year (the six months to December 31), Bailador saw its net profit increase to A$23.2m ($27.2m) from the year-ago A$17.5m, with a 3.9c per share interim dividend.<\/p>\n The fund\u2019s post-tax, after-all-fees net portfolio return was 10.0% (and over the past five years, 11.3%).<\/p>\n Kirk holds a 16% stake in Bailador through his direct and indirect holdings, worth A$29.5m at the firm\u2019s recent share price.<\/p>\n A big bird<\/p>\n One NZ has been using SpaceX\u2019s Starlink network of satellites to deliver satellite-to-mobile services (recently expanded<\/a> to include WhatsApp calling and other data services, if in \u201clite\u201d versions).<\/p>\n Later this year, 2degrees will deliver a similar service with a different US partner, AST SpaceMobile (whose financial backers \u2013 many also anchor customers \u2013 include Google, AT&T, Samsung and Vodafone.)<\/p>\n While SpaceX has a network of some 9000 tiny satellites, including 650 newer models that support satellite-to-mobile data, AST\u2019s model calls for a handful of huge birds.<\/p>\n The company says its BlueBird 6, launched earlier this week, \u201cfeatures the largest commercial communications array antenna ever deployed in low Earth orbit (LEO). Spanning approximately 2400 square feet [223sq m], the satellite is engineered to support peak data speeds of up to 120Mbps with plans to deliver up to 10 times the bandwidth capacity of the BlueBird 1-5 series. The aperture enables full 4G and 5G cellular broadband services, including voice, data, and video to standard, unmodified smartphones everywhere\u201d.<\/p>\n AST plans to launch 45-60 of its super-sized satellites over the next two years.<\/p>\n That compares to 3236 for Amazon Leo over the same timeframe and around 5000 for SpaceX.<\/p>\n AST is betting a bigger bird \u2013 with a bigger reception footprint \u2013 is better.<\/p>\n Wellumio raises $7.3m for its portable stroke detector<\/p>\n In September, Tech Insider reported<\/a> that Wellington med-tech start-up Wellumio was seeking $8.5m in series A funding for its portable stroke detector. <\/p>\nDeparting Eroad chief executive Mark Heine. Photo \/ Dean Purcell<\/p>\n
Launch Complex 1 in Mahia.<\/p>\n
‘New Zealand is the only small country in the world with a commercial orbital launch provider using locally built rockets. This decision will help the tech sector and our science community develop the opportunities this remarkable achievement creates’ \u2013 Richard Easther.<\/p>\n
David Kirk. Photo \/ Sylvie Whinray <\/p>\n
Part of AST SpaceMobile’s 2400 square foot phased array.<\/p>\n
From left: Wellumio co-founders Dion Thomas, Dr Shieak Tzeng, Dr Sergei Obruchkov and Dr Paul Teal.<\/p>\n