Damage Control: Comms Lessons from a Data Breach

Damage Control: Comms Lessons from a Data Breach

Data breaches aren't just an IT problem, they're a comms problem. When a breach hits, someone has to front the response, manage the fallout, rebuild trust with people who are (rightly) rattled, and navigate the regulatory obligations that can come with a privacy breach, including assessing whether it needs to be notified to the Privacy Commissioner and affected individuals.

It's one of the toughest jobs in our industry, and most of us have never had to do it.

Join us for our first professional development event of 2026, on Friday 23 October to hear directly from someone who's been through it.

Date: Friday 23 October 2026

Time: 2pm – 4pm

Location: The Globe, Palmerston North

Cost: $15 +GST per person

Registration is essential. Our events regularly sell out, so book early to avoid disappointment.

Speakers

Hannah Norton, Managing Director of Little & Loud, will unpack what good (and bad) breach communications look like, and the questions every organisation should be able to answer before something goes wrong. Hannah is a former journalist, qualified lawyer and PR person specialising in crisis comms.

She'll be joined by Nicky Hart, CEO of Local Health, a group of locally owned and operated primary healthcare practices across Feilding, Palmerston North and Ashhurst, caring for over 30,000 patients across the region. In December 2025, the ManageMyHealth ransomware attack meant Local Health had to move fast to understand how their patients had or hadn't been affected, navigating a crisis entirely beyond their control. Nicky will share a first-hand account of that experience, a perspective most comms people never have to face, followed by a Q&A with Hannah.

Why do we hold these events?

We believe a rising tide lifts all boats, and that there aren't enough opportunities for local comms and marketing people to connect and build skills outside of expensive formal training. We donate our time to organise these not-for-profit events, and our speakers generously donate theirs too. Proceeds from this event go to Women's Refuge.