Hutt City Council Confirms Phishing Attack, Data of Hundreds Potentially Exposed

A March 2026 phishing attack against Hutt City Council resulted in unauthorized access to several email accounts, confirmed identity compromise for five individuals, and potential exposure of financial details for up to 732 people. The council has notified affected individuals, reported the incident to the privacy regulator, contained the breach by securing accounts and reviewing logs, and implemented enhanced email security, monitoring, access controls, and staff training as part of an accelerated cybersecurity improvement program.