EY practice head to lead Clayton Utz's cyber and data governance practice

Clayton Utz has appointed Brenton Steenkamp, who used to lead EY’s cyber response and forensic practice in Europe, to head its cyber and data governance practice.

Steenkamp comes to Clayton Utz with more than two decades of experience advising on forensic consulting and cyber risk. In addition to his role as the managing partner of EY’s forensic and integrity services in the Netherlands, he was the lead partner at EY's WA forensic practice in Perth, where he spent more than six years leading and scaling the forensic technology practice across Oceania.

He has coordinated incident response as well as managed cyber risks and related internal investigations; he has also guided stakeholders on regulatory matters. Moreover, he has advised clients on data security issues, such as responding to and investigating cyber and data breaches, insider threats, regulatory compliance, and stakeholder management.

He has been involved in highly sensitive cybercrime and regulatory investigations, coordinating with the FBI in the US and with law enforcement agencies in Europe and Africa. He has also taken point on complex global cybercrime, response, and remediation investigations across Europe, the US, Australia, and Africa.

Moreover, Steenkamp has coordinated multidisciplinary teams locally and globally. He has also worked closely with risk advisors, prosecutors, and legal representatives.

“Australian businesses are all too familiar with the threat of a cyber-attack. Although many businesses have taken significant steps to protect their businesses, particularly so in the past 12 months, there is still a significant delta between the perception and reality of being adequately prepared,” Steenkamp said. “In my experience of working with global Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies, many businesses are still heavily reliant on internal, or outsourced IT services, rather than taking a leading role in developing, and implementing strategic response plans.”

He added that boards need to “play a central role in preparedness and ensure that they, and the business, are fully prepared for the chaotic and emotionally charged realities of a cyber-attack.”

Clayton Utz confirmed that Steenkamp is not an Australian legal practitioner.