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Eric Cole: From Firewalls to Courtrooms

A self-described “unicorn” in the field of cybersecurity expert witnesses, Eric Cole’s long and impressive CV certainly backs up that claim. In a highly specialized niche of true experts, Cole not only understands the complex mechanics and science behind the world of computers and the internet, but he’s had boots-on-the-ground experience.

“I have my doctorate, but I’m not a college professor,” he says. “Industry experience is important when it comes to trade secrets, hacks and breaches. In the last couple of years, I’ve been more engaged in cases involving trade secrets, breaches and gross negligence because the problem is that in cybersecurity there’s not a set law. To be a lawyer you have to pass the Bar, but to be an expert in cybersecurity there’s no such exam. It all comes down to best practices.

“For instance, when a breach occurs you have to determine if the party took ‘reasonable’ measures, (which is an often-ambiguous term), to protect their site,” Cole continues. “And, the only way you can do that is if you have industry experience. Typically, what I come up against are college professors. They might know theories and mechanics, but are lacking real world experience.”

Typically, what I come up against are college professors. They might know theories and mechanics, but are lacking real world experience.”

Eric Cole

An Unknown Direction

Computers were still a somewhat futuristic idea when, still in high school, Cole first embarked on this propitious career path.

“I was always fascinated by architecture,” he says. “But a friend of the family helped point me in an entirely unexpected, and in the ’80s, a relatively unknown direction. He convinced me that computers were going to be the future and with my aptitude for math and science that’s what I should major in, saying I could have any job I wanted.

“I took his advice and studied computer science at New York Tech. At the time, the program leaned heavily toward electrical engineering—which I quickly realized wasn’t for me. What really captivated me was programming. One rainy afternoon, I followed a gut feeling and wandered into the co-op office. As luck would have it, the CIA was scheduled to visit campus the very next day, and there were exactly two interview slots left. I signed up, showed up in a brand-new suit—probably a little too relaxed—and somehow, that worked. I got the job.”

A Call to Protect

For Cole, cybersecurity isn’t just a profession—it’s a calling. A veteran of the digital trenches with decades of experience defending networks, educating professionals and advising top-tier tech companies, Cole has always approached his work with one goal in mind: keeping people safe.

“Eventually, I transitioned into the private sector, working with startups, taking on CTO roles, and focusing on building intellectual property and increasing company valuation,” he recalls. “Along the way, I collaborated with McAfee, developed the cyber defense curriculum for SANS, trained over 40,000 professionals, and authored books including Online Danger, Cyber Crisis and Network Security Bible.”

But titles and accolades aside, it’s clear Cole is driven by more than just technical mastery. He’s passionate about making cyberspace safer for everyone—especially the people and organizations who don’t realize how vulnerable they really are.

“Most individuals—whether families, children or business owners—don’t realize just how exposed they are,” he says. “The rise of deepfakes, cyberstalking and online abuse has very real and sometimes heartbreaking consequences.”

Over the years, Cole has seen firsthand the devastation a single cyber breach can cause—from a family’s private moments being exploited to a company’s entire infrastructure being brought to its knees. This real-world perspective, paired with his ability to translate complex concepts into plain language, is what ultimately led him to one of the most powerful ways he could make an impact: expert witness work.

The Birth of Secure Anchor Consulting

Eric Cole

In founding Secure Anchor Consulting, Cole took everything he’d learned—from securing government networks to training elite cyber defense teams—and redirected it toward the legal realm. The company specializes in helping attorneys and their clients navigate the often-intimidating landscape of cybersecurity and digital forensics. Whether the case involves data breaches, IP theft, ransomware, or insider threats, Secure Anchor provides expert analysis, testimony, and strategic insight to help judges and juries understand the technical truth behind the evidence.

“Being an expert witness is about more than credentials,” Cole says. “It’s about communication. You need to be able to explain complex systems in a way that non-technical people can grasp and trust.”

Secure Anchor’s reputation is built on this blend of deep technical knowledge and clear, confident communication. Cole and his team have worked on some of the highest-stakes litigation in the field, providing pivotal insight in cases involving massive data leaks, critical infrastructure failures, multimillion-dollar disputes as well as IP (intellectual property) including infringement, technical apportionment and validity.

A Unicorn in the Witness Box

In the world of expert witnesses, Cole is something of a rarity—something he acknowledges with a touch of humor and a dose of truth.

“I’m a unicorn,” he says with a shrug. “There just aren’t many people out there who have both the hands-on cybersecurity experience and the communication skills needed to testify in court.”

It’s not bravado—it’s reality. Cybersecurity is notoriously complex, a constantly evolving mix of code, infrastructure, threat analysis, and human behavior. While many professionals may excel in one area, few possess the depth and breadth of knowledge across the full spectrum—and fewer still can distill that knowledge into language that resonates with judges, juries and attorneys alike.

That’s where Cole shines. His testimony has helped clarify everything from zero-day exploits to network segmentation failures. He’s known not just for understanding the forensic trail, but for identifying where security controls failed, how attackers got in, and—critically—who bears responsibility. His ability to walk a courtroom through the technical chain of events, without losing them in jargon, has earned him trust on both sides of the aisle.

“Jurors want clarity. Lawyers need strategy. And the court requires credibility,” Cole explains. “My job is to bring all three to the table.”

Cybersecurity Meets the Law

The cases Cole and his team at Secure Anchor take on span a wide range of industries—finance, healthcare, energy, tech, and beyond. Each case presents its own unique challenges. Sometimes it requires proving a company failed to meet basic cybersecurity standards. Other times it’s digging through logs and metadata to determine whether a breach occurred at all—or whether it was internal sabotage.

Secure Anchor doesn’t operate like a revolving door. Cole is selective about the cases he takes, preferring to work deeply and intentionally with clients. That means thoroughly reviewing technical documentation, conducting independent analyses, and ensuring that every opinion he delivers is grounded in facts, not assumptions.

“The courtroom isn’t the place for guesswork,” he says. “Whether I’m working with the plaintiff or the defense, my job is to be objective, thorough, and absolutely confident in the conclusions I present.”

That level of rigor is what has made Secure Anchor a go-to resource for attorneys handling complex cyber litigation. It’s also why Cole is often brought in early during case development, sometimes even helping firms shape their legal strategy based on his initial findings.

Trust, Objectivity, and the Weight of Testimony

Part of what distinguishes Cole as an expert witness is his unwavering commitment to objectivity. He’s not in the business of saying what a client wants to hear—he’s in the business of telling the truth, even when it complicates a case.

“I’ve turned down cases when the facts didn’t support the client’s claims,” he says. “If I can’t stand behind my opinion in a courtroom—or if I feel the evidence is being misrepresented—I won’t take the case.”

That ethical clarity has made him not only respected, but trusted. Judges listen to him. Juries understand him. Attorneys rely on him. And clients—whether corporations defending against data breach allegations or plaintiffs seeking justice after an attack—appreciate the confidence that comes from having an expert who isn’t swayed by pressure or persuasion.

It’s this integrity, combined with his unique technical fluency and communication skills, that make him such a force in the courtroom—and why Secure Anchor continues to expand its impact across industries and legal disciplines.

Educator at Heart, Strategist by Nature

Despite his prominence as an expert witness, Cole remains, at his core, an educator. Whether he’s training corporate boards, speaking at conferences, or coaching trial lawyers on the nuances of cybersecurity, he always returns to his central strength: making the complex understandable.

“There’s a big difference between knowing something and being able to teach it,” he says. “If I can’t explain a cybersecurity flaw to someone without a technical background, I don’t fully understand it myself.”

This philosophy has shaped every facet of Secure Anchor’s approach. The company not only provides expert testimony, but also pre-litigation support, risk assessments, and cybersecurity advisory services for companies looking to proactively strengthen their defenses.

It’s a model that blends foresight and accountability—a reminder that cybersecurity isn’t just about reacting to breaches, but about building systems that withstand them.

It’s the perfect storm of innovation, competition and legal ambiguity. But that’s where I thrive.”

The Next Frontier: AI Litigation

As a lifelong student of technology and risk, Cole has never been one to chase trends—but he does pay close attention to them. And right now, all signs point to one area dominating the legal landscape for years to come – artificial intelligence.

“The last three or four months I’ve been getting a lot of AI cases,” he says. “Believe it or not, there were a lot of patents filed in 2010 and 2012 on AI, even as recently as 2020. With this AI boom, we’re going to be seeing a lot of artificial intelligence patent litigation.”

It’s not just speculation—it’s already happening. As companies race to build better, faster, more powerful AI systems, legal disputes are emerging over everything from chip design to algorithmic architecture. Cole notes that AI requires enormous data processing power, often relying on highly specialized chipsets and processors—technologies that are frequently protected by patents and trade secrets.

“Graphics processing already demands a huge amount of computing power, but AI takes it to another level,” he explains. “They have extremely fast processors and very specific ways those processors operate that companies have patented.”

This new wave of litigation isn’t just technical—it’s deeply strategic. Companies like Meta and OpenAI are aggressively hiring top-tier AI talent, but as Cole points out, the talent pool is small, and the underlying technologies often share fundamental similarities.

“You’re going to start seeing a ton of trade secret litigation,” he says. “All these AI engines are very similar, and the people building them represent a very limited, highly specialized group.”

For attorneys unfamiliar with the technical nuances of AI architecture, these cases can feel like navigating a foreign language. But for Cole, they’re simply the latest evolution of a career spent translating complexity into clarity. Secure Anchor is already advising legal teams on both the offensive and defensive sides of these emerging disputes—evaluating code bases, patent claims, and technical overlap in ways that courts can comprehend.

“It’s the perfect storm of innovation, competition and legal ambiguity,” Cole says. “But that’s where I thrive.”

At a Glance

SECURE ANCHOR CONSULTING
44651 Provincetown Dr.
Ashburn, VA 20147
(844) 732-2624
secure-anchor.com

Education

  • Doctorate in Professional Studies, Pace University, 2004
  • Master of Science in Computer Science, New York Institute of Technology, 1994
  • Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, New York Institute of Technology, 1993

Accreditations & Affiliations

  • Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)
  • Created Several of the Global Information Assurance Certification (GIAC) Programs and Exams

Organizations & Associations

  • Association for Computing Machinery
  • Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
  • Computer Security Institute
  • Information Systems Security Association
  • International Computer Security Association
  • International Who’s Who in Information Technology Common Vulnerability and Exposures
  • HoneyNet Project, Member By Invitation Only

Hobbies

  • Health and Fitness
  • Exercising

Favorite Quote

  • “Smart people know the right answer, brilliant people ask the right questions.”

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