I started my career at a niche IT firm. After five years, I transferred to the privacy team at Kennedy Van der Laan. At Kennedy, the attorneys combine top-level advice with a down-to-earth perspective and a pragmatic approach. That suits me as a person and the cybersecurity practice.
In cybersecurity practice, the winged phrase "it's not a question of whether you're going to get hit, but when" is now becoming almost cliché. Unfortunately, that doesn't make it any less true. From the past, we already see how criminals are innovating when it comes to cybercrime, with the developments around ransomware attacks being the most telling example. That is certainly not going to diminish in the future.
The defensive side, obviously the police and prosecution but also the incident responders who assist victims of a cyber attack, must keep up with these developments. This, of course, requires the technical side but do not forget the legal and organizational side. We as lawyers also need to understand what happens in a cyber incident and its legal implications.
Kennedy Van der Laan is very socially involved, with all sections contributing to corporate social responsibility (CSR) in various ways. Specifically for cybersecurity, I dedicate my time and expertise to initiatives that contribute to increasing cybersecurity on a national level. I do this together with other stakeholders such as industry associations and cybersecurity companies.
With the move to partner, I have even more opportunity to participate with the team in these initiatives and contribute to making the Netherlands a little safer.
A question everyone should ask themselves regularly! The last time I did, my answer was: I still love my profession as a lawyer. Then, if I have to do something else, I think I would not choose one profession, but I would try new things all the time.
I highly recommend "It's war but no one sees it" by Huib Modderkolk. It gives in a very accessible way a glimpse into the world of cybersecurity and the (potential) dangers that lurk there. In addition, the podcast of the National Cyber Security Center (NCSC): "Enter!" is worthwhile. In it, they take you through current developments and recent threats and how they respond to them.
