Never waste a good crisis: how a hack changed our world

17 May 2024. Around six o’clock in the morning. My partner Hans’s alarm goes off. I turn over and get comfortable again, because I do not need to get up for another hour. Almost Pentecost weekend. A weekend full of great plans ahead.

I hear Hans mumbling something next to me and, slightly irritated, I wonder why he is waking me up. His next words make me sit bolt upright in bed. “Arne has called me twice. I think something is wrong.”

I quickly grab my phone. Twelve missed calls from Arne, my brother and co-shareholder of our company. In a moment like that, your thoughts immediately go to your family. Damn, what is going on? I call Arne back straight away, and the only thing he says is, “I think we’ve been hacked.”

An unimaginable rollercoaster

What followed was a period I could never have imagined. A completely shut-down IT environment. Customers for whom we could no longer run production. A ransom note from hackers. Stolen data. Crisis teams. Negotiations. Bitcoin. The Dutch Data Protection Authority. Media attention. It felt like everything was happening at once. What a rollercoaster.

Stronger together

Yet in difficult times, beautiful things often emerge as well. The AddComm team stepped up like never before. From production staff to account managers, from support teams to customer service specialists, from implementation consultants to administrative staff, from IT professionals and developers to HR. Everyone showed up. Everyone wanted to help. Preferably day and night.

Even former colleagues took time off from their current employers to help get AddComm back up and running. External experts, suppliers and even competitors offered their support.

Our office turned into a command centre, covered with action lists and overviews. From early morning until late at night, people worked tirelessly to reconnect customers. With setbacks along the way, yes, but ultimately with success. Within a few days, we were able to reconnect the first customers and lay a new foundation for the future.

Without the help of all these incredible current and former colleagues, and everyone else who supported us, we would not have made it. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

Patience and trust in times of crisis

I am also deeply grateful to our customers. Despite being directly affected by this crisis, they showed patience, trust and true partnership. The critical conversations we had and the collaboration that followed did not only restore our services, but also strengthened our collective resilience. Today, we are working together to improve cybersecurity across the entire chain.

From crisis to future: a new foundation

My personal mission? To be able to say at the end of 2025: “The hack was the best thing that ever happened to AddComm.” That may sound strange. But this hack marks the start of a new chapter for our organisation. A chapter in which we critically reassessed our strategy, strengthened our teams and implemented meaningful improvements.

A chapter in which we turn a negative experience into knowledge. Knowledge that allows us to protect our customers even better and help other organisations defend themselves against cyber threats. Because cyber risks will only continue to grow.

What really matters

As heavy as this period was, it also reminded me of what truly matters. Not work. Not growth. But your health, your family and your friends. The people closest to you. When I called Arne back that morning, my biggest fear was that something had happened to someone I love.

Sadly, several people close to me experienced first-hand this year just how fragile life can be. They lost a partner, a father, a mother, or received serious news about their own health. It taught me how important it is to pause, to appreciate what you have and to enjoy moments with the people you care about.

Enjoy what you have

What I want to share with everyone is this: work is important, but your happiness and health matter even more. Make the most of life. Keep the people you love close and create beautiful moments together.

I wish everyone a fantastic 2025, both professionally and personally. What will you do to make 2025 your best year yet?

Kind regards,
Leonie van der Veen

Want to know more about how the hack changed our world?

Would you like to learn more about the impact of the hack on our organisation? Are you curious how we will turn a negative experience into something positive in the coming year? And how we will use our knowledge to help protect our customers against cyber threats? I would be happy to tell you more.