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Cyber, Privacy Pros Find ROI Online

Rey Sveinsson

ALBANY LAW SCHOOL’S ONLINE PROGRAMS IN CYBERSECURITY AND DATA PRIVACY have had an immediate impact on participants’ careers.

Information security and privacy expert Dr. Rey Leclerc Sveinsson ’19 credits the online Master of Science in Legal Studies program with helping him get his current job. Earlier this year, leading cybersecurity solutions firm ERMProtect acquired his consulting practice and appointed him director of cybersecurity and privacy consulting. “The Albany Law program honed my focus on privacy, and the firm wanted someone with that expertise to kick-start their privacy practice,” he said.

At ERMProtect, he oversees assess-ment against a laundry list of regulatory and industry standards. After examining clients’ cybersecurity and privacy controls, he works with cross-functional security teams to develop plans for remediation or continuous improvement—while minimizing the business impact.

“The most urgent issue in cybersecurity is privacy,” said Leclerc Sveinsson, who plans to graduate in December. “There are lots of new rules coming out, and the expertise is not necessarily there. We need to expand our knowledge on the subject, and I wanted to be at the forefront of that.” The master’s program has proven valuable because it is designed to provide cybersecurity professionals with expertise on existing, new, and emerging policy.

Allen Brandt

Privacy expert Allen Brandt ’19 was named executive director and associate general counsel for Depository Trust and Clearing Corp. (DTCC), a New York–based financial services firm that handles 100 million transactions per day on behalf of banks and stock exchanges. The role includes serving as lead technology counsel. “I came in on the privacy side, so when they asked me to take on cybersecurity, I realized that with all my experience as an attorney, I had never had any formal training on the cyber side.”

He sought to broaden his expertise by enrolling in the online Master of Laws (LL.M.) program in Cybersecurity and Data Privacy. “A lot of programs are in the technical field. To find a program that covers policy and talks about things from a different perspective is quite unique.” Brandt was able to apply the relevant coursework he learned almost immediately. DTCC asked him to join its Cyber Resiliency Committee and Technology Risk Management Committee. “Having a member who not only has legal knowledge but also understands how we might respond during a cyber event is helpful,” he said.

Brandt completed the LL.M. program in May, and now shares his professional experience and breadth of knowledge with other students as an adjunct instructor in the program.

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2019 Albany Law School Magazine