Vident Partners provides vetted information security expert witnesses for cases involving data protection compliance, security audit adequacy, breach notification failures, and information governance disputes in regulatory proceedings. Request a referral today.
Find a Information Security Expert →Overview
Information security experts evaluate organizational policies, technical controls, and governance structures designed to protect sensitive data. NIST defines information security as protection of information and systems to provide confidentiality, integrity, and availability -- a standard codified in FIPS 200 and 44 U.S.C. s 3542. 1 The NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0, finalized February 2024, provides the leading voluntary framework -- organized around Govern, Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, and Recover -- against which expert witnesses benchmark an organization's security posture. 2 NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 catalogs over 1,000 security and privacy controls used to evaluate whether an organization's safeguards were adequate. 3 The HIPAA Security Rule (45 CFR s 164.306) requires covered entities to protect electronic protected health information, and NIST SP 800-66 Rev. 2 (2024) is the authoritative HIPAA implementation guide. 4 The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (15 U.S.C. s 6801) imposes an affirmative security obligation on financial institutions protecting nonpublic customer information. 5
NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 catalogs security and privacy controls that protect against hostile attacks, human errors, natural disasters, structural failures, and foreign intelligence entities — making it the primary benchmark for evaluating whether an organization's safeguards met the applicable standard of care.
Case Types
HIPAA and healthcare data protection compliance failures
CCPA and GDPR privacy regulation disputes
Security audit and assessment adequacy challenges
Breach notification obligation and timing disputes
Information governance and data retention policy failures
Qualifications
Related Specialties
FAQ
Information security is the broader discipline encompassing all aspects of protecting information assets, including physical security, policies, governance, and compliance. Cybersecurity specifically addresses the protection of digital systems and networks from attack. An information security expert addresses the full governance and compliance picture, while a cybersecurity expert focuses on technical defense.
Information security experts are needed in regulatory compliance disputes, data breach cases requiring assessment of security governance, insurance coverage disputes over cyber policies, vendor security assessment challenges, and any case where an organization's information protection program must be evaluated against applicable standards.
In general, technology expert fees are determined by the expert themselves, based on a variety of criteria. Among those criteria are professional experience, forensic experience, technical certifications, industry specialization, and publications. Vident does have some influence over expert fees by comparing experts within a specialty, but ultimately it is a personal decision by the expert.
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Vident Partners connects attorneys with qualified information security expert witnesses. Complimentary consultation, 24-hour turnaround, no obligation.
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