Tracy L. Wilkison

If the government needs data from a tech company, and the tech company won’t produce it, what does the government do?

This, in a nutshell, was the dilemma Wilkison faced last year. The Los Angeles federal prosecutor needed to convince a magistrate judge that issuing a warrant for data kept by Google LLC in a foreign country didn’t violate the Stored Communications Act.

According to Wilkison, there’s only one appellate decision that addresses this issue, and it doesn’t support the government’s position. As a further obstacle, Wilkison had to brief and argue the case without substantial legal assistance from the D.C.-based Department of Justice team that specializes in Stored Communications Act litigation.

The case swung in Wilkison’s favor last July when Judge John E. McDermott ordered Google to comply with the government’s search warrant for 33 emails.

The recent passage of the CLOUD Act may ease friction between the government and tech companies when it comes to requesting data. But Wilkison was doubtful these kinds of cases are going away soon.

“I think we’re going to have to wait and see,” she said. “I’m always hopeful that we can find ways to achieve the goals of security without completely invading people’s privacy without due process.”

Wilkison, who previously headed the cybersecurity section, said the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s main priority continues to be nation state hacking, like the 2014 breach of Sony Pictures that resulted in the disclosure of internal company records and the destruction of its computer infrastructure.

But smaller-scale cybercrimes remain an ongoing concern, she added. Wilkison has participated in a number of speaking events with attorneys and law enforcement agencies to spread the word about business hacking schemes like spear phishing. She said these attacks are sophisticated enough to convince most people they are transferring money at the behest of a boss or co-worker.

“Before you can blink, the money is gone,” Wilkison said. She noted the U.S. Attorney’s Office has been developing strategies with different law enforcement agencies to tackle this problem.

Wilkison is still immersed in the world of cybersecurity, but her priorities have shifted since being promoted to First Assistant of the U.S. Attorney’s Office earlier this year.

“I’ve moved from being a prosecutor working on individual cases to being someone more focused on the direction of the office,” she observed.

Although she’s focusing less on cases, Wilkison is enjoying the change.

“Being First Assistant allows me to think of ways to improve and support the entire office and the [assistant U.S. attorneys] who are here,” she said. As an example, she cited a recent initiative by the Front Office to create lactation rooms for female staff members.

— Eli Wolfe