Craig A. Hoffman

Partner

Cincinnati
T +1.513.929.3491
F +1.513.929.0303

"Craig is an amazing cyber attorney. He offers tons of relevant experience with a commercial point of view. He is an incident response guru."

— Chambers USA 2022

Overview

Craig Hoffman is a digital risk advisor engaged to guide clients on issues related to use of technology and data. He is well known for using his litigation experience and insights from helping entities address thousands of security incidents to develop prioritized privacy and cybersecurity strategies and effectively respond to security incidents. Visibility to what allows incidents to occur, outcomes of decisions made and measures taken to improve going forward from security incidents of all sizes enables Craig to immediately forecast what is coming, offer prioritized recommendations and then operationalize decisions into actions.

Craig co-leads the Digital Risk Advisory and Cybersecurity team – a team that helps entities address hundreds of security incidents a year and the resulting regulatory and litigation matters that follow. Clients turn to Craig to address the privacy compliance, operational and security related enterprise risks generated by their use of technology, such as data security incidents, post-incident regulatory defense and litigation, payment card network assessments, post-incident security enhancements, incident response preparedness, security and risk assessments, technology contracts and due diligence related to transactions.

In particular, Craig is internationally known as a go-to attorney for payment card security incidents after leading over 200 entities through payment card security incidents and the resulting PCI DSS revalidation process and payment card network liability assessments. Additionally, he has extensive experience with retail, restaurant, hospitality, financial services and technology companies.

Craig has conducted hundreds of incident response training and cybersecurity exercises for incident response teams, executive teams and boards of directors. These sessions help clients contextualize the critical issues and decisions they will face in an incident so they can identity how to build plans that will allow them to respond in a way that meets organizational goals, minimizes risk and protects key relationships.

Craig is ranked in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business and the Legal 500, was chosen for the Cybersecurity Docket “Incident Response 30” and has been selected multiple times as an Acritas Star and BTI Client Service All-Star. He is a featured speaker on topics such as reasonable security, incident response and other digital risk areas.

Select Experience

Incident Response

Craig has led entities through thousands of data security incidents, including some of the largest matters affecting entities in the retail, restaurant, hospitality, financial services, and technology industries.

Incident Response Preparedness

Craig has worked with hundreds of entities to create or enhance existing incident response plans. He works with incident response teams, executive management teams, and board members to test incident response plans and enhance response capabilities by conducting interactive incident response training sessions and tabletop exercises. He also helps organizations vet and engage forensic firms prior to an incident.

Digital Risk Advisory

Craig has led entities through investigations by US state attorneys general, multi-state attorneys general groups, the FTC, EU supervisory authorities, and other international data protection regulatory authorities.

Cybersecurity Advisory

Craig leverages the experience he has gained through managing thousands of incidents to help entities:

  • Identify, develop, prioritize, and implement risk-based security enhancements, which may include leveraging analysis from external security firms (e.g., red team exercises, security assessments, penetration tests).
  • Address third-party exploitation and misuse of technology, such online account credential stuffing and account takeovers.
  • Conduct due diligence in corporate transactions, including evaluating the target’s privacy and security risk posture, negotiating appropriate representations and warranties, and conducting pre-acquisition compromise assessments. After closing Craig works with the acquiring entity to develop an appropriate plan to integrate the target.
  • Develop vendor management and technology contract programs, as well as to negotiate significant agreements, such as key cloud-based services and new payment card security technology.
  • Develop cybersecurity enterprise risk management programs by working with entities, executive management teams, audit committees, and boards of directors, including implementing components of reasonable security, building a cybersecurity roadmap, and cybersecurity maturity assessments.
More »

Experience

  • Incident response counsel to restaurant and hotel franchisors involving matters where the franchisor worked with hundreds of its franchisees to identify, investigate, and provide notification of payment card security incidents, as well as any resulting litigation, payment card network liability assessments, regulatory inquiries, and post-incident payment technology security enhancement efforts with franchisees.
  • Incident response counsel and post-disclosure counsel for Marriott regarding the Starwood security incident that was disclosed on November 30, 2018.
  • Engaged by a credit reporting agency in September 2017 to provide legal advice regarding aspects of its response to a significant security incident.
  • Preparing incident response plans and conducting incident response training and tabletop exercises for response teams, executives and board members. Craig has conducted more than 150 different sessions and exercises for companies in the U.S. and internationally.
  • Advising restaurants, hotels, and retailers on authentication measures, payment acceptance, and loyalty programs for their web and mobile apps.
  • Conducting pre- and post-acquisition due diligence and compromise assessments of hotels, restaurants, and technology service providers.
  • Engaging security firms to conduct red team exercises, penetration test, compromise assessments, security risk assessments, and cybersecurity maturing assessments.

Recognitions and Memberships

Recognitions

  • Chambers Global
    • Privacy & Data Security (USA) (2014 to 2023) – Band 3
    • Privacy & Data Security: Incident Response (USA) (2022 to 2023) - Spotlight Table
  • Chambers USA
    • Nationwide Privacy & Data Security: Band 3 (2019, 2020 to 2022); Recognized Practitioner (2017, 2018)
    • Nationwide Privacy & Data Security: Incident Response: Spotlight Table (2021 to 2022)
  • The Legal 500 United States (2016 to 2017, 2020 to 2022)
    • Leading Lawyer in Media, Technology and Telecoms - Cyber Law (including data privacy and protection) (2020 to 2022)
    • Recommended in Cyber law (including data protection and privacy) (2017)
    • Recommended in Data Protection and Privacy (2016)
  • Cybersecurity Docket "Incident Response 30" (2016)
  • Acritas Star (2015 to 2019)
  • Law360 "Rising Star" in Privacy (2015)
  • BTI Client Service All-Star (2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2022)
  • Ohio Super Lawyers "Rising Star" (2009 to 2012)
  • Dayton Business Journal: "Forty Under 40" (2008)
  • International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP): Certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM)

Memberships

  • Ohio State Bar Association
  • Cincinnati Bar Association
  • Kentucky Bar Association
  • Cincinnati Academy of Leadership for Lawyers: Member of Class XIV (2010)

News

News

Press Releases

Prior Positions

  • Law Clerk for the U.S. Department of Labor Administrative Law Judge Thomas F. Phalen

Admissions

  • U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
  • Kentucky, 2008
  • Ohio, 2002

Education

  • J.D., University of Cincinnati College of Law, 2002
  • B.A., University of Cincinnati, 1999

Blog

In The Blogs

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Data Counsel
Generative AI Tools Can Present IP Risks, But They’re Manageable
March 21, 2023
The sudden increase in news coverage of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT and Midjourney has employees excited to discover how these accessible tools can make their jobs easier. Employers are concerned about the...
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Data Counsel
With New Enforcement Action, FTC Warns Against Health Information Being Used for Advertising Purposes
By Daniel Kaufman, Aleksandra Vold
March 16, 2023
If the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) recent pursuits did not make clear the agency’s deep concerns about the use of health information for advertising purposes, a new enforcement action brought by the FTC against BetterHelp – to the...
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AD-ttorneys Law Blog
Look Back, Look Ahead: State Attorneys General Enforcement – Part Two
By Craig A. Hoffman, Victoria L. Weatherford
March 2, 2022
Last month, as part of BakerHostetler’s “Look Back, Look Ahead: Advertising and Marketing Law in 2021 & 2022” webinar series, partners Craig A. Hoffman and Victoria Weatherford presented on recent trends and predictions on state attorney...
Read More ->
AD-ttorneys Law Blog
Look Back, Look Ahead: State Attorneys General Enforcement – Part One
By Craig A. Hoffman, Victoria L. Weatherford
March 1, 2022
Last month, as part of BakerHostetler’s “Look Back, Look Ahead: Advertising and Marketing Law in 2021 & 2022” webinar series, partners Craig A. Hoffman and Victoria Weatherford presented on recent trends and predictions on state attorney...
Read More ->
Data Counsel
The Scourge of Ransomware
By Elise R. Elam, Craig A. Hoffman
May 13, 2021
Our 2021 Data Security Incident Response Report (DSIR) described ransomware as a scourge. There are stories every day about new threat actor groups and their victims. There are task forces, law enforcement initiatives, discussions by...
Read More ->