Cyber Drill

TheFBIandDHSrecentlyran simulations--but without guns or evasive maneuvers: it was all about cyber.Lawyers from government agencies, law firms, and in-house shared insights over two days at Georgetown Lawfor the inaugural Cybersecurity Law Institute. Above,DHS'sLawrence Zelvin, FBI'sTrent Teyema,Verizon SVPCraig Silliman,McCue Inc'sDavid McCue, General Dynamics VPJason Munshower, andformer FBI executive assistant directorShawn Henry.The simulated scenario was a common one: a company reacting to a data breach--in this case, data flowing offshore to aChinese IP address. It covered dealingwith the leak, issues of liabilities and disclosure, and the feds.The closing keynote came from deputy AG James Cole.

Steptoe partnerStewart Bakerwas DHS's first assistant secretary. He spoke on a panel withConstitution Project'sSharon Bradford FranklinandMonument Policy Group'sJessica Herrera-Flanigan, aboutthe executive order on cybersecurity ("Iuse voluntary very loosely," said Jessica of the framework it requires),andCISPA, which passed the House last month. The event was co-chaired byChristina Ayiotis,David McCue,Gregory Gallopoulos, andHarriet Pearson.Christinabrainstormed the concept two years ago and proposed it to Georgetown Law assistant deanLarry Center. They hope to make it an annual event.

Hogan Lovells'Harriet Pearsonwas IBM'sfirst Chief Privacy Officer and headed up policies for more than400,000 employeesand thousands of clients; she joined the firm last yearafter 19 years withIBM(morehere). Shespoke on a morning panel. We snapped her with AFCEA VP Vince Pattonduring a lunch break, where Harriet told us her secret to getting in on the ground floor of a developing practice area: when something is new and nobody is sure how to deal with it--raise your hand and volunteer.

We found speakersIBM'sAndrew TannenbaumandTony Sager smiling between panels (possibly about their unintentionally matching attire). Tony spent most of his 35-year federal career with the NSA, where he helped pioneer its cyberdefense. He says he learned the importance of informationearly on: a college stint in an agency's mail room taught that it gave him the inside scoop. Regarding the much-discussed info-sharing, he saysit's overrated;people have higher expectations of what can be achieved than is reasonable.