# When Hackers Hold Your Conference for Ransom with Stuart Ruff-Lyon

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/event-about-it-event-marketing-strategy-business-growth-7239343/when-hackers-hold-your-conference-for-ransom-with-stuart-ruff-lyon
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/event-about-it-event-marketing-strategy-business-growth-7239343/when-hackers-hold-your-conference-for-ransom-with-stuart-ruff-lyon.md
Podcast: [EVENT ABOUT IT: Event Marketing, Strategy & Business Growth](https://stenobird.com/podcast/event-about-it-event-marketing-strategy-business-growth-7239343)
Published: 2026-05-05T15:46:41+00:00
Episode link: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/eventaboutit/episodes/When-Hackers-Hold-Your-Conference-for-Ransom-with-Stuart-Ruff-Lyon-e3iu1fc
Audio file: https://anchor.fm/s/101f02740/podcast/play/119522220/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-4-5%2F423519387-44100-2-e8ed4c74569f5.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/event-about-it-event-marketing-strategy-business-growth-7239343/episodes/when-hackers-hold-your-conference-for-ransom-with-stuart-ruff-lyon
Duration seconds: 1320

## Resource

Everyone says celebrity keynotes are out. Data says audiences want practitioners, not personalities. So why is RISKWORLD, the world's largest gathering of global risk professionals, doubling down on names like Adam Grant and Michael Strahan? Because sometimes the data is right and your audience is the exception. And knowing the difference is exactly what separates an event operator from a Chief Commercial Officer. In this episode of Event About It, host Megan Martin sits down with Stuart Ruff-Lyon, Chief Commercial Officer at RIMS, the risk management society, to talk about what actually happens when you stop measuring the wrong things and start asking better questions of your event. They play The Debrief, a game where Stuart gives the one question every event leader should be asking in their post-show report but almost never does. From flat sponsor revenue to a 92% say-they'll-return survey rate, Stuart flips the script on the metrics this industry treats as wins. Plus, Stuart shares the story of the morning a hacker held every single PowerPoint and video from RISKWORLD's 150-session education program for ransom. The first day of the show. Before the first session opened. And yes, they got it all back. What You'll Learn: The one question hiding behind every post-event metric that nobody is asking Why cutting your closing reception to save $200K might be your most expensive decision How to think about social media engagement after your conference without counting selfies as a strategy What cybersecurity risk actually looks like for a large-scale conference and what RIMS did about it Why the data says ditch celebrity keynotes — and when to ignore that data entirely Connect with Stuart Ruff-Lyon: LinkedIn | RIMS.org RISKWORLD 2026: May 3-6 | Pennsylvania Convention Cente…

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