Amy S. Mushahwar

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Amy S. Mushahwar is a legal-technology leader, former Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), and technologist who advises innovators who believe progress and protection must move in synchrony. As Chair of the Data Privacy, Security, Safety & Risk Management practice, Amy leads a multidisciplinary team that unites law, technology, and human insight to help organizations design, defend, and sustain trusted systems in an increasingly intelligent world.

With more than 20 years dedicated to a technology-enabled law practice, and firsthand leadership experience as a CISO, Amy bridges the space between boardroom accountability and engineering reality. She has directed responses to high-profile data breaches, built proactive security and privacy architectures, and guided companies through AI adoption, cloud transformation, and emerging-tech regulations. Her compliance work spans nearly every major privacy and security statute, such as the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) frameworks, and emerging  laws affecting businesses globally. A trailblazer in the privacy and cybersecurity profession, Amy helped undertake some "firsts" in the field, giving her a uniquely broad base across regulatory regimes and technical standards.

Amy’s enforcement background includes federal regulatory experience across multiple industries and working with numerous states’ attorneys general, providing a front-line view into how regulators shape and enforce cybersecurity, consumer protection, and emerging-technology law. She also brings esoteric experience in telecommunications and satellite law, advising on the security and governance of global communications networks.

In her work with the financial industry, Amy offers extensive experience in payments privacy, security and fraud, representing fintech innovators and banks alike on compliance, cyber security, and data-risk strategy. Her experience includes breach response, forensics investigations and payment card industry (PCI) non-compliance audits/remediation, advising clients on how to responsibly navigate card-brand or acquirer enforcement.

A pioneer in data scraping and intelligence analysis, Amy has built a highly nuanced and sophisticated practice that powers national security, law enforcement, and commercial threat-intelligence platforms. Her work integrates compliant data collection, automation, and analytics to advance situational awareness and digital defense for clients across critical infrastructure, defense, and technology sectors.

Her signature and strategic Data360 approach with Kathleen A. McGee transforms data risk into strategic advantage by aligning legal, technical, and human disciplines across the entire data lifecycle. Amy’s leadership philosophy—Mentorship, Discipline, and Humanity—defines both her practice and her people. She cultivates inclusive, dual-threat teams of lawyers, engineers, and subject matter experts in technologies that support data structures who combine technical precision with ethical clarity.

Amy is a sought-after speaker and thought leader, having presented at Harvard Law School, the Association of Corporate Counsel, Practicing Law Institute, the Northern Virginia Technology Council, and numerous national and global industry forums on breach response, cybersecurity duties, and emerging technology governance. She actively contributes to professional boards and philanthropic initiatives, reinforcing her commitment to mentorship and community engagement.

Her achievements include being honored as a Cybersecurity Trailblazer by Cybersecurity Law Reporter and recognized as a Leading Woman in Data by the Global Data Review’s (GDR) “Women in Data 2022” list, which recognizes women at the cutting edge of legislation, regulation, and technology around the world.  

As a boxer, triathlete, and taekwondo practitioner, Amy channels endurance, focus, and respect into the way she leads: strength guided by purpose. Her mission is simple yet transformative:

“To build systems that last by leading with heart.”