Robert L. Kardell | Baird Holm LLP | Omaha, NE Cyber Defense Attorney

Robert L. Kardell (Bob) is an attorney whose practice focuses on cyber-breach incident response, legal and technology-based risk management solutions, technology and cyber-defense policy and protections, intrusion remediation, and fraud prevention and investigation. Bob has more than 22 years of experience working for the Federal Bureau of Investigation as a Special Agent and Supervisory Special Agent, as well as a Program Coordinator for Public Corruption, Complex Financial Crime, Healthcare Fraud, and Domestic Terrorism.

Bob has been a certified computer forensics examiner and a certified accounting forensics investigator. He has testified numerous times as a fact witness in criminal trials and before grand juries, and drafted expert reports for both accounting and computer investigations. In his career, Bob worked on cyber-crime investigations as well as public corruption, white collar, terrorism, and financial criminal and civil investigations.

Bob has been a member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners and the Heartland ACFE for 16 years. During that time, he has served on the board and as a member of the editorial advisory committee for the ACFE’s “Fraud Magazine”. He is also a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a member of the Nebraska Society of CPAs; Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP); GIAC Security Essentials Certification (GSEC); General Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF); Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE); a certified Paraben computer forensics examiner; and formerly an AccessData Certified Examiner (ACE).

Areas of Practice

Education

University of Nebraska College of Law, Juris Doctor, 1991
University of Nebraska College of Business, Masters in Business Administration, 1991
Benedictine College, Bachelor of Arts in Accounting, Distinction, 1987
Harvard / HarvardX Cybersecurity: Managing Risk in the Information Age

Professional & Civic Affiliations

Nebraska State Bar Association, Technology Sub-Committee
Nebraska State Board of Public Accountancy
Nebraska Society of Certified Public Accountants, Vice Chairman of Legislation Committee
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), Fraud- Editorial Advisory Committee (2007—Present)
Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), Heartland Chapter- Board Member (2007—2010, 2018 – Present)
High Tech Crime Investigators Association, Nebraska Chapter President (2009—2010)
Nebraska Infragard (an association of businesses, academic institutions, state and local law enforcement agencies, and the FBI created to help protect the critical national infrastructure)

Bar & Court Admissions

Nebraska, 1992

Selected Practice Highlights

Represented client in the investigation of cyber breach at a financial organization and notification to affected individuals in all 50 states
Represented client in the investigation of cyber incident at healthcare facility and recovery
Represented client in the investigation and response to ransomware attack including ransom payment negations, data recovery, and notification to affected individuals
Represented client in the successful negotiations of settlement from fraud due to a Business Email Compromise (BEC) incident
Represented client in the investigation and remediation of cyber-attack due to zero-day vulnerability
Represented client during the investigation of a fraud investigation
Represented client in the encryption and subsequent recovery of company data by a former employee

Former Investigative Highlights

United States v. US Congressman Mel Reynolds
- Indictment of a US Congressman. Investigation resulted in the trial of Reynolds and ultimately a guilty verdict on 15 of 16 counts, his wife also pleaded guilty.
United States v. Village of Niles Mayor Nicholas Blase
- Indictment of the Mayor for the Village of Niles. Investigation resulted in a guilty plea of Blase.
United States v. Nicholas Boscarino
- Investigated the extortion of money from the Village of Rosemont, Illinois. Four-week trial and a guilty verdict of all counts; investigation and indictment resulted in guilty pleas from two other defendants for fraud and perjury.
United States v. Cook County Judge George J.W. Smith
- Indictment of a sitting Cook County Judge. Investigation resulted in the guilty plea of Judge Smith to charges of mail fraud and tax fraud.

Selected Recent Publications

Fourth Annual Report on Cybersecurity in Nebraska
Data Security and Privacy Law Book Update, Chapter Author (Westlaw)
The Practice of Cyber Law
FDIC Compliant Investigations for Cybersecurity (Nebraska Banker)

Recent Speaking Engagements

Cybersecurity Threats in the Face of War Webinar
Cybersecurity for Attorneys; All you needed to know and never wanted to know (Creighton Law School)
Attorney Ethics; Tech Challenges and Responsibilities (NSBA)
The Current State of the Ransomware Threat Webinar
The Cybersecurity Threats to Healthcare Webinar