Partner Ben Powell Joins Leading National Security Experts in The Washington Post’s Simulated Cyber Attack

• 11.7.2012

Ben Powell, partner in the Regulatory and Government Affairs Department, joined with leading national security professionals at The Washington Post’s cybersecurity summit to discuss policy implications and government actions in the case of a cyber attack on the United States. The Washington Post designed the well-attended and live streamed event as an interactive forum for cyber security panelists to discuss the growing threats to business and government information and ways to protect against cyber attacks.

Powell participated in crisis simulation during the summit exercising proposed government actions and strategy response for a hypothetical cyber attack scenario. In the simulation, Powell played the role of the Director of National Intelligence and furnished information to the National Security Council on ongoing attacks related to the energy and banking sectors.

Jamie Gorelick, chair of the Defense, National Security and Government Contracts Practice, said, “Protecting our data systems and the information they contain has become a national imperative for business and government. Recently, we have seen the private sector pay increasing attention to cybersecurity. Any opportunity to promote awareness and prompt preparation will help harden our infrastructure against potential threats.”

The summit was held on Oct. 31 and drew numerous former and current Washington national security experts, including Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, Gen. James Cartwright, former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; William Lynn III, former US Deputy Secretary of Defense, and Steven Chabinsky, former deputy assistant director of the Cyber Division at the FBI.