The screen grab of the post included a couple of lines from the top of a spreadsheet.

A June 2025 profile by security firm Trend Micro called Anubis an emerging ransomware group.

Various profiles by security firms indicate its ransomware-as-a-service involves encrypting files, leaking a section online to intimidate a victim, then permanently wiping file directories to limit chances of data recovery if no ransom is paid.

Asked if it was aware of the files being offered by Anubis, and whether it considered them genuine, the Napier firm said in a written statement: “Langley Twigg Law is aware that the threat actor has made further claims about stolen data and has introduced mechanisms to access it.

“In response, we have obtained injunctive relief from the High Court [on February 4] preventing all persons from accessing, copying, publishing or distributing any stolen data.

“We take our obligations to protect client information seriously and this injunction provides legal remedies should anyone attempt to access or distribute this material. We note that Ms Feldtmann’s LinkedIn post is in breach of this injunction.”

(Feldtmann subsequently deleted her post and Langley Twigg said it would take no action against her.)

READ MORE: Five ways to make patient portals like ManageMyHealth more secure

Asked if a ransom demand had been made and, if so, whether it had entered negotiations, Langley Twigg said: “Our 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’ information. We continue to work closely with relevant authorities.”

300GB of data stolen

In a judgment dated February 5, explaining the reasons for the interim injunction granted on February 4, Justice Dale La Hood said, “on January 11, 2026, one of [Langley Twigg’s] staff noticed unusual activity and advised its IT provider. The IT provider discovered unauthorised activity, including a ransomware payload”.

It added, “the 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”.

“Preliminary analysis indicates that approximately 300GB of data had been stolen.”

With basic images, 300GB is equivalent to around 600,000 pages of documents.

The judgment added, “other 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”.

Justice La Hood noted Langley Twigg had set up an incident response team and was working with the Privacy Commissioner and police.

The injunction was granted because, “there 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”, Justice La Hood said.

Client data accessed

Langley Twigg Law said in a January 28 post on its website that it had been hit by a cyber attack on January 11.

An investigation by an IT forensics expert “confirmed that some client data was copied from our file server. We are working to determine the full extent of what was accessed”, the law firm said in an update on its website. It was anticipated the investigation would take weeks.

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.

The petition was sparked by the Manage My Health breach. Labour MP Dr Ayesha Verrall has agreed to present it to Parliament.

Langley Twigg said in a post on its website, “at 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”.

Affected clients would be notified individually. Systems had been restored from backup copies.

Eroad CEO takes exit ramp

Eroad is losing the second of its two chief executives under its co-CEO model.

Mark Heine will step down in June after a four-year stint – 18 months of which he shared power with David Kenneson, the head of the truck-tracking firm’s American business, who resigned last October. Heine was formerly the NZX-listed truck-tracking firm’s CFO.

Shares were down 5.8% to 98c in late trading.

In November, Eroad reported a $146 million first-half net loss (from its year-ago $11m loss), driven by a $135m goodwill impairment – “reflecting the termination of a legacy customer, competitive dynamics and economic conditions in the North American market”.

Heine told the Herald that Eroad had lost a “large American customer” that generated around $9m in revenue per year.

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.

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).

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.

He saw a bright new dawn, however, with the Government’s 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 in what would represent a big swing to the consumer market.

“After 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,” Heine said.

An NZX filing said the board will now begin a recruitment process.

Heine was formerly Eroad’s general counsel. He became acting CEO – then eventually permanent – following the abrupt, unexplained departure of long-time boss Steven Newman in April 2022.

Collins permits 1000 rocket launches

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.

Collins, who will leave Parliament mid-year to head the Law Commission, said the rise followed a review of space vehicle launch debris regulations.

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).

A study she co-authored predicted 1000 launches globally by 2030 under a “conservative scenario” which it said would cause a nearly 2% additional ozone depletion over Antarctica by 2030.

“The effects from NZ’s launches alone are unlikely to cause widespread damage to the ozone layer,” she said.

“But launch rates are also increasing overseas and the cumulative effects add up.”

“This is good thing on the face of it,” Auckland University physics professor Richard Easther said.

“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.”

That launch provider is, of course, Rocket Lab.

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.

Rocket Lab has staged 87 launches since its Electron’s first mission in 2017.

In 2025, Rocket Lab conducted 18 launches from its New Zealand site, Launch Complex 1 (LC-1) on the Māhia Peninsula, an increase from 13 the previous year and a total of 21, including Electron launches from LC-2 in Virginia.

The Kiwi-American firm’s larger Neutron rocket, due on the launchpad for its maiden mission this quarter, will launch exclusively from LC-3 in Virginia.

With funding tight across the board, Collins’ 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 more than $100m in subsidies and grants Rocket Lab’s way).

David Kirk’s Bailador on a roll

David Kirk’s Bailador Technology Investments has delivered a positive halftime report.

The former All Blacks captain and current Forsyth Barr, NZ Rugby and KMD Brands chairman, co-founded Bailador in 2011 with Paul Wilson – a venture capital cohort who had worked with Lachlan Murdoch – to invest in early-stage tech companies.

Its punts have included Auckland-based Straker.

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.

The fund’s post-tax, after-all-fees net portfolio return was 10.0% (and over the past five years, 11.3%).

Kirk holds a 16% stake in Bailador through his direct and indirect holdings, worth A$29.5m at the firm’s recent share price.

A big bird

One NZ has been using SpaceX’s Starlink network of satellites to deliver satellite-to-mobile services (recently expanded to include WhatsApp calling and other data services, if in “lite” versions).

Later this year, 2degrees will deliver a similar service with a different US partner, AST SpaceMobile (whose financial backers – many also anchor customers – include Google, AT&T, Samsung and Vodafone.)

While SpaceX has a network of some 9000 tiny satellites, including 650 newer models that support satellite-to-mobile data, AST’s model calls for a handful of huge birds.

The company says its BlueBird 6, launched earlier this week, “features 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”.

AST plans to launch 45-60 of its super-sized satellites over the next two years.

That compares to 3236 for Amazon Leo over the same timeframe and around 5000 for SpaceX.

AST is betting a bigger bird – with a bigger reception footprint – is better.

Wellumio raises $7.3m for its portable stroke detector

In September, Tech Insider reported that Wellington med-tech start-up Wellumio was seeking $8.5m in series A funding for its portable stroke detector.

A “first close” brought in a solid $7.3m, including $800,000 from crowdfunding platform Snowball Effect (which has a $2m limit).

The start-up is still hoping to hit its target with its final close.

Chris Keall is an Auckland-based member of the Herald’s business team. He joined the Herald in 2018 and is the technology editor and a senior business writer.