Scott Koller’s career exemplifies the critical role that legal and technical collaboration plays in addressing today’s most complex data-security challenges. As a privacy and data-security attorney and Member of the law firm Clark Hill in Los Angeles, California. Scott specializes in data-breach response and security compliance, helping organizations across industries manage the growing risks associated with information technology and digital operations.
With a deep understanding of both the regulatory landscape and the realities of modern cyber threats, Scott has become a trusted advisor to companies navigating the intersection of legal compliance, technological vulnerability, and operational continuity. His work bridges law, policy, and practice, bringing structure, clarity, and strategic foresight to organizations managing data-driven risk in an increasingly volatile environment.
Scott’s extensive experience has made him a leading voice in incident response. Having counseled numerous clients through security incidents and data breaches, he brings not only legal precision but also composure under pressure. His work spans nearly every industry sector, from healthcare and finance to education, technology, and insurance, reflecting his ability to translate complex legal requirements into practical, defensible actions when it matters most.
A cornerstone of Scott’s practice is his leadership in incident response, helping organizations contain, investigate, and recover from security breaches with speed and compliance. He has represented clients in front of state attorneys general, insurance departments, health departments, and key federal agencies, including the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) within the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
His depth of experience in managing regulator-facing investigations allows him to guide organizations with confidence and clarity during moments of crisis. Scott’s approach emphasizes both immediate containment and long-term strategy, ensuring that organizations not only recover but also evolve from each incident with stronger policies and preparedness.
He is also frequently sought out to defend clients in connection with regulatory inquiries and to advise leadership teams on communication strategies, documentation, and internal coordination throughout the response process.
Beyond crisis response, Scott works with executives, boards, and incident-response teams to strengthen organizational resilience through proactive planning. He conducts interactive tabletop exercises and workshops designed to simulate real-world security events, test readiness, and build the “muscle memory” necessary for decisive, coordinated action.
By leveraging his strong background in information technology, Scott helps organizations align legal, technical, and operational priorities. He collaborates with internal and external teams to conduct risk assessments and penetration tests, prioritize security projects, and establish continuous metrics for measuring privacy and security maturity.
Scott’s focus on collaboration and education ensures that teams across departments, from IT and legal to communications and compliance, understand their roles and responsibilities before a crisis ever occurs. His philosophy is simple but powerful: effective security is not reactive, but cultural.
Lessons from the Frontlines
Koller has seen a wide spectrum of organizational mindsets when it comes to data protection, and he’s quick to point out that complacency remains one of the biggest vulnerabilities.
“Organizations tend to fall into two dangerous camps,” he explains. “Some think they’re too small to be targeted. Others believe their technology stack is so sophisticated that they’re immune. Both mindsets can leave companies exposed.”
Having managed incident responses across industries, he emphasizes that cybersecurity risk must be approached holistically, integrating IT, legal, compliance, communications, and executive leadership.
“It’s not just about technology,” Koller notes. “It’s about decision-making under pressure and understanding how every department fits into the response.”
Another key lesson he highlights is the misunderstanding of cyber insurance. Many companies underestimate the procedural requirements attached to their coverage.
“Cyber insurance isn’t like auto insurance, you don’t just file a claim after everything is resolved,” he says. “You have to notify your carrier immediately and follow the prescribed process. Otherwise, you may lose coverage or miss out on critical response resources.”
Understanding the Legal Landscape
When navigating a breach, organizations must often contend with overlapping and sometimes conflicting legal frameworks, HIPAA, GLBA, CCPA/CPRA, GDPR, and others. Koller emphasizes that this complexity requires specialized expertise, not improvisation.
“A data breach is not the time to research your obligations on the fly,” he warns. “You need counsel who knows these laws inside out and can guide the organization from the first moment.”
He stresses that understanding the regulatory landscape before an incident occurs is essential.
“Your legal and technical teams should already know what laws apply before the crisis hits. Breach response is not a ‘learn as you go’ exercise.”
The Regulatory Perspective
From his extensive work with regulators, Koller explains that investigations typically focus on two dimensions: pre-incident posture and post-incident conduct.
“If an organization ignored known vulnerabilities or failed to follow established regulatory guidance, like implementing encryption or multifactor authentication, that’s a serious red flag,” he explains.
But equally important is how the organization behaves after the incident.
“Delayed notifications, inaccurate public statements, or poor coordination can escalate regulatory scrutiny,” Koller notes. “Transparency and timeliness are critical.”
The Value of Tabletop Exercises
Koller regularly leads tabletop exercises to simulate breach scenarios for clients. These controlled simulations expose gaps and help teams practice their response in real time.
“It’s not about catching people off guard,” he says. “It’s about building muscle memory, making response actions second nature.”
Often, these exercises reveal unexpected weaknesses.
“I’ve seen organizations realize that their incident response plan was stored on the same network that would be encrypted in a ransomware event,” he recalls. “Or that their communication systems, email, chat, were also down. Those discoveries are invaluable.”
He also points out a common misconception about timelines.
“Containment can happen quickly,” he explains, “but proving what was accessed takes much longer. That’s where patience and forensic precision matter.”
Ransomware: A Calculated Response
Ransomware, according to Koller, remains one of the most complex forms of cyber crisis. He walks organizations through four essential questions when confronted with a ransom demand:
- Can you pay? U.S. law prohibits payments to sanctioned entities, such as those linked to North Korea or Iran.
- Do you need to pay? If backups are intact, payment may not be necessary—but restoration timelines can complicate that decision.
- What’s at risk? “Double extortion” tactics—threats to leak stolen data—must be factored in.
- How will it look? Public perception and reputation are critical, especially for organizations that serve law enforcement or the public sector.
“There’s no universal answer,” Koller says. “Each situation requires balancing legality, practicality, and optics.”
Bringing Cyber Risk to the Boardroom
For Koller, one of the biggest challenges is helping executives understand cybersecurity through the lens of business risk.
“Executives understand numbers,” he explains. “Translate cyber risk into financial terms, downtime costs, regulatory penalties, class-action exposure, and you’ll have their attention.”
He encourages boards to analyze real-world enforcement actions in their own industries to better grasp the stakes.
“When you show what similar organizations have faced in settlements or fines, it becomes real, and it changes how leadership invests in preparedness.”
Balancing Security and Resources
Koller is pragmatic about the realities of resource constraints.
“No organization can be 100% secure,” he says. “The goal is to make smart, defensible investments.”
He advocates prioritizing low-cost, high-impact controls such as multifactor authentication, encryption, and employee training.
“Those steps create an outsized return on security. The key is consistency, security as a daily habit, not an annual project.”
Who’s Under the Microscope?
Certain sectors, Koller notes, face heavier scrutiny than others.
“Healthcare and finance are under constant regulatory observation,” he explains. “But from a threat standpoint, everyone’s a target. Attackers don’t discriminate, they go after access, not industries.”
Even seemingly mundane data can be weaponized.
“Your data may not be valuable to others, but it can be very valuable to your business, especially if you can’t access it. ” he says simply.
Privacy as Expectation, Not Differentiator
While many companies see privacy as a potential competitive advantage, Koller offers a realistic view.
“Consumers already expect you to protect their information,” he says. “Privacy isn’t a differentiator; it’s the baseline. You only stand out when you fail.”
Trust, he suggests, is the true currency of privacy. Maintaining it is not about messaging, it’s about consistent performance.
Looking Ahead: Staying Grounded Amid AI Hype
As AI dominates conversations around cybersecurity, Koller remains grounded in the fundamentals.
“AI might help craft better phishing emails, but that’s not the biggest problem most organizations face,” he explains. “The core issues are the same: phishing, patch management, and human error.”
His advice to privacy and security professionals is straightforward:
“Don’t chase headlines. Focus on fundamentals, patch your systems, train your people, and mature your program steadily. That’s how you build resilience.”
Closing Reflections
Through thousands of breach investigations, Koller has learned that technology alone cannot prevent or solve every problem, it’s leadership, preparation, and communication that determine outcomes.
“Every organization can improve its posture,” he concludes. “Preparation and collaboration make all the difference when, not if, a breach occurs.”
