Robert Silvers is co-chair of the firm’s national security practice group and a member of its global data, privacy & cybersecurity practice. Rob is a globally recognized leader at the intersection of security, emerging technology, and law. Drawing on his senior-level experience at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), he advises clients on cybersecurity, privacy, trade controls (CFIUS and forced labor enforcement), AI security and governance, and crisis management.. He excels at navigating clients through parallel proceedings that accompany security issues, including internal and government-facing investigations, regulatory inquiries, litigation defense, and incident response and management. The perspective he brings as a former official in the top echelon of the U.S. government makes him a trusted advisor to boards of directors, senior officers, fund managers, and other clients. Clients value Rob’s practical advice and his intuitive sense of how government agencies will react to complex situations.
Prior to joining Ropes & Gray, Rob served as Under Secretary for Policy at DHS, where he and his 300-person team managed government efforts relating to cybersecurity, AI security, supply chain resilience, China policy, national security regulation of technology, CFIUS and other investment security regulations, trade enforcement, and cross-border law enforcement.
During his tenure Rob served as Chair of the U.S. Cyber Safety Review Board, leading the federal government’s comprehensive investigations into the country’s most serious cyber incidents. He also was at the forefront of developing cybersecurity and AI security regulations across a range of critical infrastructure and industry sectors. Rob also served as DHS’s senior official on CFIUS, reviewing hundreds of billions of dollars in foreign investments for national security concerns. He served as Chair of the federal Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force, where he led the design and implementation of a new enforcement regime for imports with a nexus to the Uyghur region of China. And he was in the Situation Room on countless occasions formulating the U.S. government’s strategy and response to the most pressing security and law enforcement challenges.
Before joining the U.S. government in 2021, Robert was a partner at a major global law firm, serving as Vice Chair of its Privacy and Cybersecurity practice and founder and Chair of its Artificial Intelligence practice. He regularly navigated multinational clients through government investigations, internal investigations, litigation defense, and compliance counseling relating to emerging AI, cyber, and privacy regulations. Rob also regularly advised dealmakers on preparing for CFIUS reviews and bringing their deals through the Committee for approval.
Earlier in his career, Rob served as Assistant Secretary for Cyber Policy at DHS, where he played a pivotal role in architecting many of the federal government’s cybersecurity programs which are still in place today.
Robert has been a regular source of comment on high-profile national security issues for a range of leading global media outlets, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Washington Post, and Bloomberg Television. He has been invited to speak on AI, cybersecurity, geopolitical challenges and national security at leading events including the Milken Global Summit, the Aspen Security Forum, the Munich Security Conference, the RSA Conference, Black Hat, the International Bar Association Annual Conference, and the Wall Street Journal Risk & Compliance Forum.
Experience
- Represented a Fortune 10 technology company in its full-spectrum cybersecurity and privacy needs, including investigations, incident response, compliance, and defense in regulatory actions.*
- Successfully represented leading financial and insurance services company in parallel cyber-related investigations by the New York Department of Financial Services and multiple state attorneys general.*
- Counseled multiple financial services, healthcare, and technology companies in their compliance activities under data protection regulations, including GDPR, the California Consumer Privacy Act, Gramm-Leach-Bliley, the New York Department of Financial Services Cybersecurity Rule, and HIPAA.*
- Successfully quarterbacked cyber incident and crisis response for dozens of multinational companies, including incidents involving nation-state attackers, ransomware, compromises of over 100 million sensitive consumer records, massive cryptocurrency theft, and defense of parallel class action litigation and government investigations.*
- Led crisis management, internal investigation, and legal response for major software company following compromise of its source code by a criminal hacking syndicate.*
- Represented multinational clients in hundreds of CFIUS reviews, including reviews involving sovereign wealth investors and supply chain and data integrations in sensitive countries.*
- Represented five of the 25 largest global technology companies in investigations and security-related matters.*
*Experience prior to joining Ropes & Gray