Marc Zwillinger

Marc Zwillinger, Founder of ZwillGen, PLLC

Marc Zwillinger is an American lawyer who is considered to be one of the pioneers of information security law. He is reported to have created the first information security practice at any national law firm when he joined Kirkland & Ellis in 2000[1] after working in the United States Department of Justice Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section. Since then, he has been appointed repeatedly to working groups and commissions on cybersecurity and privacy issues and has testified before the United States Congress on four different occasions[2][3][4][5] on the need to reform Title III (Wiretap Act) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, the U.S. law protecting information stored online and on cybersecurity.

He is also known for having launched a successful Internet privacy/Internet Security boutique law firm  ZwillGen PLLC[6]  which features several lawyers independently recognized as leaders in the privacy and security field. His current practice focuses on helping clients navigate the risks of doing business on the Internet and advising on issues related to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), the Wiretap and Communication Acts, privacy, CAN-SPAM, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, spyware, adware, Internet gambling and adult-oriented content.

Life and career

Marc Zwillinger founded Zwillinger Genetski LLP (now ZwillGen PLLC),[7] a boutique law firm specializing in a wide range of Internet issues, in March 2010. In addition he also provides corporations with advice and counsel on protecting the data on their networks from internal and external threats, and counsels them through handling data breaches and internal misuse of their network. Zwillinger regularly works with clients who have suffered security breaches in conducting internal investigations, complying with security breach notification laws, and responding to Federal Trade Commission and state Attorney General inquiries.

Prior to founding Zwillinger Genetski, Zwillinger was a partner at Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal in the firm's Internet, Communications & Data Protection Group where he had created the Internet, Communications and Data Protection Practice Group (originally called Information Security and Anti-Piracy). There, he helped coordinate the nationwide anti-piracy campaign against manufacturers and distributors of pirate devices on behalf of DIRECTV.[8] Marc also worked for the United States Department of Justice in the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section as a trial attorney from 1997-2000. In this position he was a team leader in investigating high-profile hacker penetrations into the military, governmental, commercial and educational computer systems. His team coordinated the investigations of several high-profile computer crime cases including the 1997 penetration of U.S. military computer systems by an Israeli hacker ("Solar Sunrise"),[9] the February 2000 denial of service (DoS) attacks on prominent e-commerce sites, and the Love Bug virus.[10] In addition, he investigated and prosecuted violations of the Economic Espionage Act of 1996 (the "EEA") and represented the government at trial and in sentencing proceedings in United States v. P.Y. Yang, et al.,[11] the first EEA case successfully tried in the United States. His work on this case was discussed extensively in the book "Spooked: Espionage in Corporate America."[12][13]

Before entering the DOJ Marc was a litigation associate for Kirkland & Ellis from 1995-1997. Prior to that he clerked for the Honorable Mark L. Wolf of the United States District Court, District of Massachusetts from 1994-1995. Marc earned his bachelor's degree from Tufts University (1991) graduating magna cum laude and received his law degree from Harvard Law School (1994) also magna cum laude.

Publications and law reviews

Awards and recognition

Marc has been ranked by Chambers as a leading lawyer in Privacy & Data Security law from 2007 to the present 2011 issue, noting his specific expertise with Electronic Communications Privacy Act and Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act issues.[14] He has appeared on national news programs and regularly is quoted as a trusted source for a number of national media outlets.[15]

In the media

Boards and working groups

Marc served as a Commissioner on Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Commission on Cybersecurity for the 44th Presidency, from 2008 - 2010.[16] He was also a member of the Corporate Information Security Working Group, which worked under the auspices of Chairman Adam Putnam from the United States House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform, Subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations and the Census . In 2003, he was a member of the United States National Academy of Sciences[17] Committee on Critical Infrastructure Protection and the Law, and help write the Commission's 2003 Report: "Critical Information Infrastructure Protection and the Law: An Overview of Key Issues."[18] Marc is currently on the advisory board of FanCandy, and previously served on the advisory boards of Attributor and Foundstone, a division of McAfee.

References

External links