For most organizations, having a robust cybersecurity and computer forensics framework in place is critical, central to safeguarding its tangible and intangible assets. The rise of digital technology and the need for companies to react quickly and effectively in the face of cyber threats preoccupy the C-suite to a degree unimaginable even a few years ago. While data breaches cause reputational and brand harm to companies, they also can severely harm individuals whose personal and sensitive information may have been unlawfully disclosed.

Cybersecurity experts and computer forensics experts are two sides of the same coin: cybersecurity experts implement and maintain robust information security systems, while computer forensics experts or data breach experts will deal with a breach after the fact, working to recover lost or stolen data and trying to understand how the breach occurred.

Expertise for Every Eventuality

Opportunities for legal pitfalls abound in this area. The Federal Trade Commission may bring enforcement actions against organizations that fail to implement “reasonable security” to protect consumer privacy. In the area of intellectual property, the open-source culture in cybersecurity has reduced the overall amount of commercial litigation related to licensing, but patent infringement cases are proliferating. This is because of several salient factors: the patent security market segment is growing, and new market entrants are aggressively challenging existing patents even as they unknowingly violate patents that have been around for many years and are only now being asserted. Trade secret misappropriation cases are also escalating, as a company’s trade secrets – business information about customers, employees, finances, sales, and marketing efforts – are particularly vulnerable to cyber threats. Recent reports by data companies, including Verizon, show that approximately half of all manufacturing company data breaches are of intellectual property for competitive, rather than espionage, purposes.

Our world-class expert witnesses have degrees in such areas as Cybersecurity, Information Security, Systems Engineering, Information Technology, and Computer Science.

We have placed patent expert witnesses who have testified as network security experts for antivirus detection software, downloadable security profiles, abstract protection systems and security systems related to airport security and for scanning content. We have identified damages expert witnesses to evaluate damages to companies because of cyber attacks, and specifically opine on the value of deleted data and lost revenue for shutting down and rebuilding websites. We have worked on cases that required us to identify information security experts and intellectual property experts to evaluate the reasonableness of precautions taken to protect company trade secret information.

As just a small sampling, our experts can provide expert testimony in the following areas:

• Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986
• Economic Espionage Act
• Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996
• Homeland Security Act of 2002
• Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930
• US Transportation and Security Administration
• Enterprise risk management and vulnerability assessments
• Cryptocurrency and Bitcoin technology
• Blockchain technology
• Malware, phishing, and viruses