It’s been just over a year since Australian media giant Nine was rocked by a major ransomware attack pushing its head of IT and the company’s first true head of cyber onto a true war-footing.

Coming amid a sharp rise in cyber attacks throughout the pandemic, it nevertheless delivered a jolt to many Australians, seeing such an established and recognised brand fall victim to something like this. As we know the attack led to some broadcast and other operations being seriously disrupted, as well as an almost 3 percent dip in the share price as news got to market.

For media tech veteran, Damian Cronan, Nine’s chief information and technology officer, it was a career shaping experience like nothing he’d faced before, kicking off around 2am on the morning of Sunday May 28 last year. By his side was the newly appointed group director of IT security, Celeste Lowe, one of Australia’s most respected cyber experts.

Together they provide a candid and insightful look at how one of Australia’s biggest media companies dealt with its biggest ever cyber threat; how the ‘war room’ was created, what immediate actions were taken, and how the experience has shaped the organisations future strategies and technology decisions.