Karen Painter Randall, Chair of Connell Foley's Cybersecurity, Data Privacy and Incident Response Group, has been named by NJBIZ as a 2021 "Digi-Tech Innovator." This is only the second time NJBIZ has compiled their list of "Digi-Tech Innovators," and Karen was chosen for the list both times. Of particular note, Karen has been the only attorney to be recognized by NJBIZ as a "Digi-Tech Innovator."
According to NJBIZ, the Digi-Tech Innovators Awards recognize "pioneers from New Jersey who have and are introducing significant advances in the technological and digital space at their organizations, thus enhancing the overall productivity and performance of their companies." Karen and the other honorees will be recognized at a virtual awards presentation Thursday, April 22, at 8:30 a.m.
Well-known as an innovator in the cybersecurity space, Karen founded and chairs the New Jersey State Bar Association’s (NJSBA) Cybersecurity Legal Task Force, one of the first of its kind in the country and a model for other states looking to protect their bar associations and provide resources to manage cyber risk. As part of this initiative, and with Karen’s leadership, the NJSBA Task Force produces cybersecurity webinars and an Annual Cybersecurity Summit to ensure organizations understand the importance of using best practices, such as multifactor authentication, endpoint monitoring, penetration testing, vulnerability scans, backup, incident plans, etc. to remain secure in the current threat landscape.
Importantly, Karen was thrice appointed by the American Bar Association president to its Cybersecurity Task Force. She was invited to speak at the 2019 National Council of Bar Presidents on "The Power of Innovation -- The Exploding Cybersecurity Threat Affecting Lawyers and Bar Associations" -- a discussion of the NJSBA Cybersecurity Task Force and Karen’s impact on raising awareness of cyber risk in the legal profession. Most recently she presented on artificial intelligence for a keynote panel at the ABA’s National Legal Malpractice conference. In 2018, Karen branched out into academia and created one of the first Cybersecurity Legal Task Forces for a law school in the southeast, recruiting national thought leaders from FTC, DHS, FBI, Microsoft, LinkedIn, supply chain/logistics, security and insurance. Thanks to Karen’s efforts, law schools, states and bar associations across the country are taking the necessary steps to proactively combat the cybersecurity threat facing the legal and all vertical industries.
Please click for more information and the list of Digi-Tech Innovators.