In 2010, the Royal Navy website was hacked by the Romanian attacker known as TinKode. It was headline-grabbing, embarrassing, and very public.

At the time, I was leading the team responsible for the British Army’s web infrastructure. I was asked to step in and help get the Navy back online.

We didn’t waste time trying to patch a compromised system. Instead, my senior developer and I rebuilt the entire public-facing site on our hardened content management platform. Within a week, we had a clean, secure replica ready to deploy — fully functional and ready to withstand further attacks.

The rebuild itself took less time than the internal approvals required to switch it live.

Once the green light came, the Royal Navy was back online quickly, securely, and without further incident.

High pressure. National visibility. Zero drama on delivery.

And for the record — I was paid in rum, which felt on brand.