Daanish Samadmoten is a member of Fasken’s Privacy and Cybersecurity group and is the Firm’s Chief Privacy Officer. Daanish frequently advises clients on various privacy and cybersecurity matters by providing practical and strategic advice in respect of privacy compliance, data breach incidents, and privacy litigation.
Daanish works closely with clients to achieve business objectives through the innovative use of personal information, while ensuring compliance and managing risk. He helps clients to identify and implement creative solutions to all manner of privacy issues, including data projects and marketing initiatives.
Daanish frequently advises clients and their Boards of Directors about cybersecurity risks, Board responsibility, implementing effective governance, risk transfer, and incident response planning. This advice will often involve working closely with outside cybersecurity experts to manage cybersecurity risks and conduct strategic risk assessments.
Daanish has helped numerous clients respond to a full range of data breach incidents involving millions of affected records and individuals, including some of Canada’s most high-profile breaches. Clients have looked to Daanish to help effectively investigate and respond to significant matters such as:
- Large-scale ransomware attacks
- Cyber extortion in the context information theft and DDoS attacks
- Sophisticated hacking, malware, and phishing attacks
- Lost and stolen laptops, drives, and paper information
- Data breaches impacting payment cards and PCI rules
- Careless exposure, snooping, and rogue employees
- Vendor and service provider breaches
With considerable experience and an ongoing practice in the fields of commercial, civil, and administrative litigation, Daanish brings to bear key legal and litigation risk management considerations in relation to privacy and cybersecurity matters.
In the freedom of information and access to information field, Daanish assists clients with strategic requests to obtain material information for business or legal purposes and with resisting the disclosure of information before institutions and regulators.
Daanish is an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, teaching a course on cybersecurity and artificial intelligence.
Daanish is a Certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM). Daanish was recognized by Best Lawyers in Privacy and Data Security Law in 2026, 2025, and 2024 (previously in 2022 as One to Watch), in 2026, 2025, and 2024 as a Stand-out Lawyer by Thomson Reuters, in 2024 for Data Protection & Privacy by Lexpert, and in 2025 and 2024 as a Future Star by Benchmark Litigation.
