Jeff Kosseff


Jeff Kosseff is a cybersecurity law professor at the United States Naval Academy. He is a lawyer who previously practiced media, cybersecurity, and privacy law at Covington & Burling LLP and a former journalist. Before becoming an attorney, he was a Washington, D.C. reporter for The Oregonian, a major newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and recipient of the George Polk Award.

Education

He graduated from the University of Michigan with bachelor's and master's degrees, and from Georgetown University Law Center with a doctorate of jurisprudence.

Personal

He lives with his wife and daughter in the Washington, D.C. area.

Career

Kosseff teaches, researches, and writes about cybersecurity law at the United States Naval Academy, where he is an assistant professor in the Cyber Science department. Previously, as a lawyer at Covington & Burling, he represented media and technology companies in a wide range of First Amendment and privacy issues. Among his representative matters, he advocated for federal shield law for journalists on behalf of a coalition of more than 70 media organizations. He frequently writes and speaks about the First Amendment and privacy law. The Information & Privacy Commissioner of Ontario has named Kosseff a Privacy by Design Ambassador. Kosseff is an adjunct professor of communications law at American University's School of Communications, and he serves on the board of directors of the Writer's Center in Bethesda and Advocates for Survivors of Torture and Trauma in Washington, D.C.
Before joining Covington, Kosseff clerked for Judge Milan D. Smith Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Judge Leonie M. Brinkema of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
As a journalist, Kosseff worked for The Oregonian in the Washington, D.C. bureau from 2004 through 2008. Prior, he three years covering technology for The Oregonian.

Awards