Alston & Bird Expands Data Security Practice

WASHINGTON, JANUARY 14, 2013 – Alston & Bird LLP today announced that Kimberly (Kim) Kiefer Peretti, a former director of the cyber forensics services practice of PwC, has joined the firm as a partner in its Washington, D.C. office.  Kim is a nationally recognized expert on data breach investigations, information security, corporate compliance and cyber law. Her addition bolsters Alston & Bird’s ground-breaking Security Incident Management and Response Team, which she will co-chair, and the firm's Government Investigations team.

Before joining PwC, where she supervised and managed complex, technical cyber investigations, Kim served for eight years as a senior litigator for the Department of Justice's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section.  There she led several benchmark cybercrime investigations and prosecutions, including the prosecution of the infamous TJX hacker Albert Gonzalez, currently serving 20 years in prison for his role in the largest hacking and identity theft case ever prosecuted by the Department of Justice.  For these prosecutions, she received the United States Attorney General's Distinguished Service Award, two Assistant Attorney General Awards for Outstanding Advocacy in Protecting Citizens from Online Crime, MasterCard’s Certificate of Appreciation, Visa's Leadership in Security Award and the United States Secret Service’s Director Award for Outstanding Assistance and Support.

Kim is regularly quoted in both print and broadcast media on the topics of cybercrime and cybersecurity and was recently featured in both a New York Times Magazine cover story and a CNBC documentary.  She is a frequent keynote speaker and lecturer and has been recognized as an "industry pioneer" by SC Magazine in the information security industry.  Kim has been a board advisor to the Financial Services Information Sharing and Advisory Center (FS-ISAC) and regularly advises boards of directors and senior management on matters of cybersecurity.

“In a recent Corporate Board Survey, ‘Data Management and Privacy’ was the highest-rated concern of general counsel,” said Alston & Bird Managing Partner Richard Hays.  “Kim is a heavyweight in the cybersecurity arena, and instantly strengthens our ability to represent clients in a wide range of complex, cutting-edge data management and privacy matters as well as data breach response and cyber investigations.”

About Kim Peretti

Kim Peretti is a former director of PricewaterhouseCoopers’ cyber forensic service practice and a former senior litigator for the Department of Justice's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section.  She focuses her practice on managing complex, technical investigations and responses resulting from cyber intrusions and data breaches.  She also services a wide range of clients in matters of cybersecurity, privacy, financial crime, fraud, and regulation, payment systems compliance and risk mitigation, economic espionage, and intellectual property theft. 

Kim is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) and holds an LL.M. from the University of Munich, Germany, a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center (magna cum laude) and a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin – Madison (Phi Beta Kappa).

About Alston & Bird

With more than 800 attorneys, Alston & Bird is a leading national AmLaw 50 firm.  The firm’s core practice areas are intellectual property, complex litigation, corporate and tax, with national industry focuses in health care, financial services and public policy.  The firm has built a reputation as one of the country’s best employers, appearing on FORTUNE magazine’s ranking of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” 13 consecutive years, an unprecedented accomplishment among law firms in the United States.  The firm has offices in Atlanta, Brussels, Charlotte, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, Research Triangle, Silicon Valley, Ventura County and Washington, D.C.

For more information on Alston & Bird, please visit www.alston.com.