Former federal prosecutor James M. Aquilina is an accomplished business leader, cybersecurity expert, and authority on digital investigations. He currently serves as a strategic advisor to the CEO and as a member of the advisory board of cybersecurity firm BlueVoyant; as a member of the advisory board of League, a leading healthcare PaaS provider; as a member of the board of governors of the Advanced Imaging Society; and as an Emeritus board member of Teach Democracy (formerly the Constitutional Rights Foundation), a nonprofit organization that teaches civics to youth. He is also a cybersecurity investment advisor to Silicon Valley private equity firm Gryphon Investors.
James was an early executive at Stroz Friedberg, a technical services and consulting firm focused on cybersecurity and digital investigations, and he served as president after its acquisition by Aon. During his tenure, James served clients in the tech, internet, media, finance, manufacturing, healthcare, aerospace, energy, telecommunications, and retail industries.
He has been selected as a special master in various complex matters involving digital evidence, including in disputes between two major universities over clinical drug studies, the conflict between CrossFit and the National Sports Conditioning Authority, and the 1-800-Get-Thin federal criminal prosecutions.
As an Assistant US Attorney in the Central District of California for almost a decade, he led significant multi-defendant cybercrime investigations and prosecutions, served as a member of the Los Angeles Electronic Crimes Task Force, and helped establish and run the Legal Section of the FBI’s Emergency Operations Center following the September 11, 2001 attacks.
James co-wrote Malware Forensics: Investigating & Analyzing Malicious Code and two associated field guides, published by Elsevier/Syngress in 2008, 2012, and 2013, which collectively constitute the first complete published work on the topic.
A regular commentator on cyber matters, James has spoken in international venues, appeared on cable news programs, and been quoted in global newspapers, including the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times.
James is a graduate and Richard Erskine Academic Fellow of the University of California Berkeley School of Law and completed his undergraduate studies magna cum laude at Georgetown University.
