About the IAPP

David Simon is Skadden’s Global Co-Head of Cybersecurity, Data Privacy, and AI. Formerly a Pentagon special counsel and chief cyber counsel to the U.S. Cyberspace Solarium Commission, Mr. Simon regularly assists clients as lead investigator and crisis manager for high-stakes, cross-border incidents involving cyberattacks, data breaches and extortion, and AI.

Mr. Simon has dealt with some of the most significant cyber incidents on an international scale. His experience includes advising victims of state-sponsored cyber activity, ransomware and other cyber extortion attacks, as well as breaches of health information, sensitive government information, intellectual property and personal data. Dual qualified to practice in the U.S. and the EU, he represents global companies in connection with cyber incidents requiring analysis of breach reporting obligations under U.S. and EU law. 

Mr. Simon is known as a go-to cyber and privacy counsel for Fortune 500 companies, serving as cyber counsel and incident commander when portfolio companies face ransomware or other disruptive cyberattacks. He has counseled companies on major cyber incidents and incident preparedness across virtually every industry, including financial, health care, energy, chemical, defense and aerospace, telecommunications and hospitality. He frequently counsels boards, C-level executives and other management as they address cyber vulnerabilities and breaches, and manage associated legal, regulatory and reputational consequences.

With years of experience working in data protection privacy compliance, Mr. Simon often advises clients on complex regulatory issues involving the collection, storage, use, transfer and sharing of personal and other sensitive data. He counsels clients on data governance and privacy compliance with HIPAA, ECPA, CCPA/CPRA, EU GDPR and a range of EU laws governing data protection and technology supply chain risk management.

A Rhodes Scholar and Truman Scholar, Mr. Simon graduated from Harvard Law School, where he was an executive editor of the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review and a Heyman Fellow. Prior to attending law school, he received an M.Phil. in International Relations from Trinity College, Oxford, and a B.A., in Russian Area Studies from the University of Minnesota.