Cybersecurity Challenges Now and Ahead, for the Finance and Public Sector and How Governments are Responding.

Join the Harvard Law School Alumni Association of Washington, DC to hear from a panel of experts who have thought deeply about the cybersecurity challenges that are now emerging and the ones likely to come in the future and have written, spoken, made policy and represented clients in the course of their careers in connection with these issues.

We will allow time for questions with the panelists and a brief opportunity at the end of the program to socialize with others in attendance and with the panelists.

Wednesday, May 10, 2023
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, LLP

1152 15th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20005

 Speakers:

Alan Raul, Partner Sidley & Austin, Founder and Chair of the firm’s Cybersecurity and Privacy Group. Lecturer in Law, Harvard Law School teaching “Digital Governance: Privacy and Technology Trade-offs.” Additionally, he is an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown law school where he teaches Cybersecurity Risks, Rules and Responsibilities.” Formerly, Mr. Raul, a Harvard College undergrad, Kennedy school grad and Yale law school grad, served as General Counsel of the Dept. of Agriculture and in a similar role at OMB. He also served as Associate Counsel to the President.

Alan represented the Special Cybersecurity Committee of Yahoo!’s Board of Directors in connection with its independent investigation of the company’s handling of the two largest data breaches ever reported. Additionally, he represented the internet technology company that collaborated successfully with the U.S. and UK governments to defend against and take down the Russian GRU’s malicious “Cyclops Blink” malware before the Ukraine invasion.

Tom Vartanian. Author of “The Unhackable Internet” and former chair of the financial services/banking practices at Fried Frank and Dechert law firms from 1983 to 2018. Currently, the Executive Director of the Financial Technology & Cybersecurity Center. Tom served as the General Counsel of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board and FSLIC during the height of the savings and loan crisis in the 1980s. Additionally, Vartanian served as Special Assistant to the Chief Counsel of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Mr. Vartanian is a futurist and expert in financial technology who has been described by clients in Chambers as “one of the best financial services lawyers in America.” Mr. Vartanian was Chairman of the American Bar Association’s Cyberspace Law Committee between 1998 and 2002, where he chaired an international task force of lawyers from twenty countries which released a seminal report in London in 2000 on the novel issues created by doing business in Cyberspace.

James Vigil.   Senior Policy Adviser for Cybercrime and Intellectual Property Rights, U.S. Department of State. Harvard Law School, ‘89 who previously served as a trial lawyer in the Department of Justice and as a Senior Associate Counsel in the Office of the Associate Attorney General.  Additionally, Mr. Vigil served in the White House as Senior Counsel to the President’s Special Envoy to the Americas and was involved in anti-corruption matters.  Among his accomplishments is the development and implementation of the first-ever U.S. Transnational and HighTech Crime Global Enforcement Network, a partnership with the Department of Justice for which in June 2022 he received the Assistant Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award.  He also has received other awards of merit for his distinguished government service.

Moderator. Abby Deift.  Abby holds a Master’s degree in Public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School.  She serves as the Executive Director of the Cyber Safety Review Board at the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Policy.