Workshop day

Peadar Callaghan is a cybersecurity game Designer and researcher in serious games from Tallinn University. He has designed and run several games to explore complex concepts in cyber security. He has contributed to exercise design for both national and international organisations.

Arthur PB LAUDRAIN is a Research Associate in Cyber Diplomacy with Department of War Studies at King’s College London and a DPhil candidate in Cyber Security at the University of Oxford. His work investigates the cyber diplomacy of the middle-ground, as well as cyber-enabled foreign election interference, both under EPSRC grants. He was an inaugural Fellow of the European Cyber Conflict Research Initiative (ECCRI) and Visiting Researcher at NATO CCDCOE, where he still contributes to the strategic track of LockedShields.

Aurimas Kuprys is the head of cyber exercises with CR14. He has worked for NATO CCDCOE as a specialist in exercise design. He has worked on multiple games and exercises from the technical to the strategic.

Since 2020 Swedish Defence University Military Teacher focusing on Cyber Operations. Previously a former UK Royal Air Force Flight Operations Officer and as of 2011 a NATO staff member at Mons, Belgium. There he served as a NATO CD Rapid Reaction Team coordinator, Resolute Support Afghanistan Cyber Security Section Head and worked on cyber exercise planning and execution.

Dr. Fischerkeller is a research staff member in the Information Technology and Systems Division at the Institute for Defense Analyses, a Federally Funded Research and Development Center supporting the U.S. Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Combatant Commands.

Piret Pernik is a Researcher at the Strategy Branch of the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre for Excellence (CCDCOE). She has authored and co-authored numerous reports and policy analysis, including book chapters, articles in academic peer-reviewed journals, and think tank research reports. She is the editor of a volume of papers entitled “Cyberspace Strategic Outlook 2030: Horizon Scanning and Analysis” (CCDCOE, 2022), and co-editor of “Cyber Threats and NATO 2030: Horizon Scanning and Analysis” (CCDCOE, 2020). Prior to joining the CCDCOE in 2019, Piret Pernik was a Research Fellow at the International Centre for Security and Defence (ICDS), Estonia’s largest think-tank focused on security and defence matters. She worked as a Researcher at the Estonian Academy of Social Sciences. Between 2003-2013 she served in the Estonian Ministry of Defence and was an adviser of the National Defence Committee of the Parliament of Estonia. She holds a Master’s degree on Social Theory (Sociology), and on International Relations and European Studies. Piret was part of the inaugural 2023-2024 cohort of the UC Berkeley Tech Policy Fellowship hosted by University of California, Berkeley, Goldman School of Public Policy & CITRIS Policy Lab.

Professor Greg Austin is co-founder of the Social Cyber Institute and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Technology Sydney. He served as Senior Fellow and head of the Program on Cyber Power and Future Conflict with the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) for over three years; and as Professor of Cyber Security, Strategy and Diplomacy with the University of New South Wales Canberra for six years. His academic career, including a Senior Visiting Fellowship in the Department of War Studies at Kings College London, has included ten books on international security, as author or editor. His service as a research leader for prominent global NGOs, such as the International Crisis Group and the EastWest Institute, has seen him work from Brussels and London for about one third of his career. He has consulted for the UK Cabinet Office, the UK Ministry of Defence, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the European Commission, and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. He has held roles in the Australian civil service, including posts in Canberra and Hong Kong in defence intelligence, parliamentary committees, and ministerial staff. Austin has a Ph D in international relations and a Master of International Law, both from the Australian National University.

Dr Goldman serves as a strategist at U.S. Cyber Command and a thought leader on cyber policy. From 2014 to 2018 she directed the U.S. Cyber Command / National Security Agency Combined Action Group, leading a team that wrote the 2018 U.S. Cyber Command vision, Achieve and Maintain Cyberspace Superiority.

Dr Harknett is Professor of Political Science and Director of the School of Public and International Affairs, Co-Director of the Ohio Cyber Range Institute, and Chair of the Center for Cyber Strategy and Policy at the University of Cincinnati. He holds an afffilate faculty position with the School of Information Technology at UC and a professorial lectureship at the Diplomatic Academy Vienna, Austria, where he served as Fulbright Professor in 2001. In 2017, he served as inaugural Fulbright Professor in cyber studies at Oxford University, UK and in 2016 as the first Scholar-in-Residence at United States Cyber Command and NSA. His publications and research interests focus on international relations theory and international security studies with particular focus on cyber strategy. He also regularly advises at the US government and state of Ohio levels. He is the co-author of Cyber Persistence Theory: Redefining national security in cyberspace (UK: Oxford University Press, 2022).

Taylor Grossman is Deputy Director of Digital Security at the Institute for Security and Technology, where she works on the Ransomware Task Force and other ongoing projects. Previously, she was a senior researcher in the Cyberdefence Project at the Center for Security Studies at ETH Zurich. She also serves as a senior editor at Binding Hook, a media organization that publishes articles on technology and security. She holds an MPhil in International Relations from the University of Oxford and a B.A. in Political Science from Stanford University.

Dr Simona R. Soare specializes in defence innovation, the applications of emerging technologies in defence capabilities, software-defined defence, digital transformation of defence, and future of war. Simona is Professor of in Strategy and Technology in the Department for Politics, Philosophy and Religion at Lancaster University.

Prior Simona was research fellow for defence and military analysis with IISS, senior associate analyst for transatlantic defence and EU-NATO cooperation with the EUISS, senior security and defence advisor to the Vice-President of the European Parliament and defence analyst with the Ministry of Defence. Simona holds a PhD in International Security (2011), and she is a US Department of State Fellow and a Denton Fellow.

Among Simona’s latest publications are Simona R. Soare, Software-Defined Defence: Algorithms at war(IISS, London, February 2023); Simona R. Soare, Digitalisation of Defence in NATO and the EU: Making European Defence Fit for the Digital Age (IISS, London, August 2023);Simona R. Soare and Fabrice Pothier, Leading edge: Key drivers of defence innovation and the future of operational advantage(IISS, London, November 2021); Simona R. Soare, J. Burton, and R. Steff (eds), Emerging technologies and international security: the man, machines, and war (London, Routledge, December 2020); Simona R. Soare, European Military AI: Why Regional Approaches are Lagging Behind (Routledge, London, March 2023); Simona R. Soare, Algorithmic power? The role of artificial intelligence in European strategic autonomy (Routledge, London, May 2023); and Simona R. Soare (ed), Turning the Tide: How to rescue transatlantic relations (EUISS, Paris, October 2020).

Louise Marie Hurel is a Research Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute's (RUSI). She is the lead of the Cyber Team’s work on Responsible Cyber Behaviour. Her research focus on international cyber security policy, private actors, expertise, cyber diplomacy, cyber operations and incident response. Throughout the past decade, Louise has advised governments in different high-level debates as well as in previous work as a consultant on cyber/data security for the United Nations. Louise is also a PhD researcher in Data, Networks and Society at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), founder of the Latin American Cybersecurity Research Network (LA/CS Net) and serves as co-chair of the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise’s Advisory Board.

Conrad Prince is a Distinguished Fellow and RUSI’s senior adviser on cyber security, offensive cyber, and related intelligence and security issues. He was formerly the Director General for Operations and deputy head of the UK Government’s signals intelligence and cyber security agency, GCHQ, and subsequently held a role as Cyber Security Ambassador for the UK Government, specialising in international capacity building.

James Sullivan is the Director of Cyber Research at RUSI. He founded and has grown a research group at RUSI that explores critical cyber public policy issues. Research themes include: the role of national cyber strategies, the cyber threat landscape, cyber security and resilience, cyber risk management, offensive cyber, cyber statecraft and diplomacy, and ransomware. James has contributed to a variety of publications and media outlets such as the FT, BBC and CNN and has provided insights on aspects of the cyber threat to high-level fora such as the G7, the World Economic Forum and the White House’s International Counter Ransomware Initiative.

Joseph Jarnecki is a Research Fellow in Cyber at the Royal United Services Institute. His research focuses on international cyber support, strategic cyber threats to critical infrastructure, and impacts from emerging technology on national security.

He is a graduate of King’s College London’s War Studies Department from which he holds a MA in International Conflict Studies

Pia Huesch is a Research Analyst in cyber, technology and national security. Her research focusses on the impact, societal risks and lawfulness of cyber operations and the geopolitical and national security implications of disruptive technologies, such as AI Prior to joining RUSI, Pia conducted her doctoral research on the lawfulness of low-intensity offensive cyber operations in international law, particularly under the principles of sovereignty and non-intervention. Previously, Pia has been a visiting researcher at McGill University and worked at the Glasgow Centre for International Law and Security as well as the Brussels office of the German Marshall Fund of the United States.

Andy Grayland is the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Silobreaker, and has over 12 years of information security experience. A dedicated digital transformation strategist and security consultant, Andy specialises in developing and implementing effective information security programmes with a focus on aligning them to business objectives. Prior to Silobreaker, Andy was CISO at the Scottish Local Government’s Digital Office. He holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of St. Andrews, and a PGC in Cyber Defence and Information Assurance from Cranfield University.

Ivar is a career security professional, with over two decades of information management and security experience across public and private sectors. As Silobreaker’s Director of Intelligence/Business Solutions, Ivar is able to apply his threat intelligence and cyber security expertise to ‘see the bigger picture’ and deliver solutions that protect organisations’ critical data and assets, while minimising business risk. His previous roles include Threat Intelligence EMEA Lead at the London Stock Exchange Group and CISO of Statistics Estonia, part of the Estonian Ministry of Finance. 

Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Jesper is the Chief Security Officer for Northern Europe at Palo Alto Networks where he delivers strategic counsel to large organisations, governments and military entities. Joining the company in 2021, he brings more than two decades of experience and knowledge in leading Information Security efforts across software development, systems & security architecture, national technology and security strategies, and government policy. 
Prior to joining Palo Alto Networks, Jesper was a Senior Information Security Officer at Maersk Drilling in the wake of the NotPetya incident, where he was responsible for Security Operations, as well as the onshore and offshore cybersecurity strategy and programmes. During his time in the Defence, he served as the National Representative for Denmark in NATO on communications, cryptographic and PKI security, and served more than nine years as a Security Officer for the Danish Defence IT Agency.

Dr Regine Grienberger is the Director for Cyber Foreign and Security Policy at the Federal Foreign Office. Her previous professional experience was chiefly in the field of EU foreign policy as well as EU financial and economic policy. Dr Grienberger was Deputy Head of the Minister’s Office (Gabriel, Maas), Deputy Head of Division for European economic and financial policy and desk officer for EU Agricultural
Policy, with responsibility for crisis management in pandemics, among other areas. Her tasks also included EU public relations and the EU’s external relations with countries of the Western Balkans. She was Head of the Political Section at the German Embassy in Rome and culture, press and protocol attaché at the German Embassy in Ljubljana. Dr Grienberger studied agriculture in Bonn, Munich, Vienna and Michigan State University. She obtained her doctorate in Bonn.

Alessio Campana served as Officer Pilot in the Italian Air Force. While in service, he started his studies in Engineering, obtaining the Master Degree in Telecommunication Engineering at Roma Tor Vergata University in 2002. As Engineer in Telecommunication, he covered multiple technical and managerial roles. In 2010 he joined ELTGROUP as Senior Engineer, covering the position of Research and Development System Project Manager for Electronic Warfare Solutions. Currently, he is in the Corporate Chief Scientist Office responsible for CONOPS and Operational Scenarios, for EMSO and Cyber application.

Bryan Prior is an Intelligence Analysis Director at Microsoft’s Threat Analysis Center (MTAC) focused on cyber and influence threats in the Middle East. He joined Microsoft in 2020 to a then newly formed Threat Context team focused on nation state goals behind their cyber operations. Prior to Microsoft, Bryan covered a range of security issues in the Middle East from terrorism to military and cyber threats with the US Intelligence Community. As a briefer at US Central Command, he covered the full range of threats in the Middle East with a focus on Iran and its regional activity. He has an M.A. in Strategic Studies from Johns Hopkins SAIS.

He is currently the Director of Threat Specialist Management at Microsoft, where he leads a team of security technical specialists serving US state and local government customers.  Prior to this role, he was an engagement team lead at Microsoft's Detection and Response Team (DaRT), where he led over 40 global incident response engagements in different industry sectors and organizational sizes. He has served the US Department of Defense and the US Central Command as a consultant and a branch lead.  He has a M.S. in Digital Forensics from the University of Central Florida.

Abby is a Threat Intelligence Analyst in Microsoft's Threat Intelligence Centre (MSTIC) where she works on identifying and tracking threat actors and delivering actionable intelligence to protect customers. Prior to Microsoft, Abby previously worked in threat intelligence and research roles within UK government.

Nikolas Ott is a Senior Manager at Microsoft European Government Affairs. His portfolio includes cyber diplomacy, cyber threat intelligence, cyber defense policy, foreign and security policy and cyber capacity building. Previously, he worked in the cyber/ICT security team of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). He is an alumnus of the Mercator Fellowship of International Affairs and the German Academic Scholarship Foundation. He holds a M.A. in Law and Diplomacy from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (Tufts University) and B.A. in Political Science from the Freie Universität Berlin.