Cybercrime and data protection

In connection with “cyberattacks” such as ransomware or DDoS attacks that have recently become publicly known more frequently, both the legal defense against cybercrime and the defense against accusations of cybercrime are gaining in importance.

The legislator has reacted to this development by making extensive legal changes in the procedural and substantive criminal law. The defense in this complex matter is particularly challenging because, in these often cross-border cases, lawyers must have an understanding of how DDoS, ransomware or brute force attacks work, as well as of the facts of the Deep Web, so as to ensure effective defense. Not least because of the complexity of the matter, the area of cybercrime offers many defense approaches.

In recent years, the area of data protection has also become more important with respect to criminal and fine law, in particular as a result of the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GSGVO) and amendments to the Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG). Due to this development, particularly companies and the persons acting on their behalf have to face new challenges since violations may be punished with considerable penalties.

We do not only advise companies that have become victims of cybercrime but also defend against accusations of cybercrime. In the area of data protection, we defend companies and their employees who are accused of having violated data protection regulations. For the avoidance of violations of data protection we preemptively provide advice to companies. Our expertise in this area is proven by a large number of professional publications in the area of IT criminal law (see, for example, Grözinger, chapter “Cybercrime and Data Crime” in the Munich Lawyers’ Handbook on Criminal Defense, 3rd ed. 2021).