Cybersecurity & Data Privacy

When a cyber incident occurs, the immediate priority is regaining control—of systems, data and business operations. JSM’s lawyers are frequently appointed as breach counsel to lead cyber incident response in severe and operationally disruptive incidents across the Asia Pacific region, including large-scale ransomware attacks, complex data breaches affecting millions of records and cyber extortion targeting critical infrastructure and global supply chains. The pace of a cyber crisis leaves no room for inexperience. Our team draws on deep, hard-earned know-how from some of the region’s most serious and complex incidents, enabling us to act with confidence and precision from the outset. We operate a dedicated 24/7 incident response team, committing to contact within 15–30 minutes, working with forensic specialists, crisis communications advisers, cyber insurers and other vendors.

In the midst of a debilitating cyber attack, organisations face an overwhelming cascade of legal obligations and strategic decisions under intense time pressure. Acting as breach counsel, our team provides decisive legal leadership across every dimension of cyber incident response: managing regulatory notification and data breach reporting obligations across multiple jurisdictions, advising on ransom payment considerations and threat actor negotiations, guiding privileged forensic investigations, coordinating disclosures to regulators, customers, employees and business partners and advising on litigation exposure, evidence preservation and regulatory investigations.

JSM is a trusted panel firm for leading cyber insurers and is frequently appointed by policyholders as breach counsel in complex cybersecurity incidents. We lead time critical, multi-jurisdictional responses within insurer reporting frameworks and coverage requirements, while keeping the primary focus firmly on protecting the interests of the insured. Alongside cyber incident response, we provide practical, commercially focused advice on data privacy and cybersecurity compliance across Hong Kong, the Chinese Mainland and the wider Asia Pacific region. Our team has particular strength in guiding clients on the PRC’s Cybersecurity Law, Data Security Law and Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL), including cross border data transfers, data localisation requirements, regulatory filings and engagement with Mainland authorities. We help clients design and implement cybersecurity and data governance frameworks that are proportionate, operationally workable and aligned with international data flows.