Cybersecurity & Emerging Technologies

With an increased prevalence of threats to physical, natural, and cyber systems, both public and private sector entities must strengthen their defense and resilience against at-risk systems—particularly given an increased reliance on networks necessary to operate these systems and the severe health, safety, environmental, and regulatory consequences arising from cyber-attacks to these types of assets.  Recognizing that businesses are at varying levels of cyber maturity and that each industry has its own regulations, guidelines and expectations, our team provides customized services to meet clients’ needs and obligations to keep critical infrastructure secure and bolster national security.

Very often government rules and regulations fail to keep pace with the innovations that have transformed various industries, thereby stymieing progress, or worse—halting it altogether.  Our emerging technologies practice advises and counsels companies working in, and impacted by, new technologies including artificial intelligence (AI), autonomous vehicles, biometrics, grid energy storage, carbon capture, utilization, storage utilization, storage the internet of things (IoT), robotics, unmanned aerial vehicles, and wireless energy transfer.  We have identified creative solutions and provided practical options to comply with existing laws as well as developed advocacy strategies to help shape the next iterations of guideposts.  For more information about how our emerging technologies practice can help with navigating this new and developing area contact Michael Weiner.

Through our experiences and relationships, we are able to effectively coordinate funding and other legislative efforts for our clients. Team members have significant experience assisting clients with advocacy regarding the development and implementation of cybersecurity-related legislation. Our team also has noteworthy executive branch experience with agencies that have oversight of systems at risk of cyber-attacks.

Our professionals make it a priority to stay ahead of new legislation, regulations, and other cyber developments in order to keep our clients well-versed and in compliance with requirements as they arise.  Our team is able to provide keen insights to help clients implement the best practices outlined in the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Framework, and the Pipeline Security Guidelines proffered by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and various electric power industry reliability standards, including the Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) standards enforced by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC).  We can also survey the relevant rules and regulations in any industry for businesses looking to determine whether their new approach to operations triggers any compliance concerns.

Employing our unique understanding of the regulatory framework governing these industries, our attorneys—with the help of cyber risk professionals—can conduct compliance audits to evaluate general operational system vulnerabilities and offer potential solutions, including system improvements and employee training to mitigate risks.

In the event that a cyber-incident does occur, our team is able to conduct internal investigations, help in coordinating with enforcement authorities, and provide appropriate notifications in the event of a security breach. In addition, for clients that have avoided incidents to date, we can offer advice on response planning, including partnering with technical experts to conduct “table top“ exercises that yield lessons learned from a simulated incident.