Cyber, National, and Supply Chain Security

Every business operating in today’s connected economy must navigate the increasingly complex global internet and communications ecosystem. 

Cybersecurity

Our clients are involved in every element of this ecosystem, from connectivity and communications infrastructure providers to device and equipment manufacturers to software developers to enterprises large and small.  We help them to seize the opportunities – and avoid the pitfalls – at the intersection of technology and security, and to navigate new and developing contractual, statutory, and regulatory requirements.  In particular, we focus on the often-overlapping effects of developments in international jurisdictions, federal agency and executive processes, and state and federal legislation.   

Our advice draws on our attorneys’ diverse and multidisciplinary experience working in and with a wide variety of agencies, executive branch departments, and congressional committees.  Our work frequently involves groundbreaking advances in collaboration among and between industry and government stakeholders against common cyber adversaries and helping to establish industry leadership in pioneering such security opportunities.  In all aspects of our cybersecurity work, WBK offers clients a unique combination of services.  We provide formal advocacy in regulatory and other official processes and offer related strategic guidance on developing the partnerships on which cybersecurity policy and operations are increasingly based.  Not only do we navigate and shape these formative phases of cybersecurity law and policy, but our attorneys also assist with compliance as they mature into concrete regulatory regimes.  For instance, we routinely advise clients on compliance with an expanding web of incident reporting and cybersecurity certification requirements overseen by multiple federal and state regulatory agencies.   

Supply Chain Security

The diversity and complexity of today’s communications networks reflect a technological success story – and yet they also pose increasing risk, as those networks are assembled with hardware and software components produced by hundreds of thousands of companies all over the world. 

The networks we rely on for the basic functions of life and business are in many ways beyond any single entity’s control, so ensuring the security of the overall telecommunications supply chain requires collaboration by all participants in the global internet and communications ecosystem – ranging from government agencies focused on nation-state and criminal threats of espionage and sabotage to industry stakeholders such as providers of connectivity, operators of communications infrastructure, device and equipment manufacturers, software developers, and enterprises large and small.   

Our clients span all segments of the marketplace and are leaders in developing partnerships with government, giving us unique insight into the interrelationships within this complex marketplace and the ability to forge and leverage alliances between these stakeholders to address supply chain security concerns.  As statutory and regulatory supply chain security requirements develop, and as public-private partnerships for supply chain risk management mature, our attorneys’ experience working in and relationships with a variety of regulatory entities, executive branch departments, and congressional committees – including those whose jurisdiction goes far beyond that of the communications sector – enable us to proactively engage with government stakeholders to advance our clients’ objectives.  These activities include compliance advice regarding current or prospective vendors, advocacy for specific policy and regulatory outcomes, and implementation of government programs focused on supply chain security and promoting trusted suppliers. 

National Security

WBK’s attorneys regularly practice at the intersection of technology and national security, helping clients navigate an increasingly complex legal and business environment that is rapidly being shaped by national security policymakers in the United States and abroad. 

We have extensive experience advising clients on matters that could raise national security concerns to the U.S. government.  In particular, WBK assists clients with proposed transactions subject to the jurisdiction of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which is led by the Department of the Treasury and reviews foreign investment in U.S. businesses for national security risk, and the Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the United States Telecommunications Services Sector (Team Telecom), an interagency committee led by the Department of Justice that advises the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on national security and law enforcement issues associated with international telecommunications, submarine cable landing, and other licenses.  

Members of WBK’s National Security practice have held senior positions within the U.S. government departments and agencies responsible for these national security reviews and other cutting-edge national security challenges, including the Department of Justice, the Department of Commerce, and the FCC.  We draw on our attorneys’ diverse experiences in government and the private sector to develop uniquely effective approaches to its interactions with federal departments and agencies responsible for developing and implementing national security policy.  WBK has helped clients negotiate national security agreements with these entities and guided clients in establishing national security compliance programs to effectively implement such agreements.