The Ph.D. School aims to dig into the intrinsic correlations between cybersecurity and international relations. Since the subject is vast and complex, the program of the Ph.D. school will specifically focus on analyzing, understanding, discussing, and evaluating the impact of cyber risk on geopolitics from different standpoints, like, e.g., the analysis of cyberattacks from an IR perspective, the impact of cybersecurity on national and international cooperation, human rights and conflict resolution, and the role of private sector on cybersecurity and international relations. The school will also provide valuable insights into the role of cybersecurity operations in the Russo-Ukranian conflict.
Topic 1: The role of cybersecurity in the current international geopolitical landscape
Hours: 5
Speaker: Elena Kaiser/Massimo Moretti
Speaker Bio:
Ambassador Massimo Marotti is the Head of the Strategies and International Cooperation Department of the Italian National Cybersecurity Agency since May 2023. He entered the diplomatic career in 1986. He was Ambassador to Iraq and Lebanon and Diplomatic Advisor to two Ministers of Defense. He previously served at the Embassy of Italy in Washington, the Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York. He was Deputy Representative in the Italian delegation to the UN Security Council from 2006 to 2008. He was Consul in France and Luxembourg. In Rome, he held positions of economic diplomacy for four years and of international security for other four years. He was Deputy Director General for Political Affairs before being appointed Ambassador to Baghdad. Elena Kaiser works as International Relations Advisor for the Italian National Cybersecurity Agency. Before that, she was the Legal and Policy Advisor of the Cybersecurity Agency of the Ministry of Economy of Luxembourg. Elena holds a Ph.D. in Public, International and European Law at the University of Milan, carrying out a research on the limitations to the right to privacy for national security and law enforcement purposes. Elena is also a qualified attorney in law, specialising in criminal law and technology related regulations.
Topic 2: Responding to Emergencies: Cyber Rapid Reaction Teams in Theory and Practice
Hours: 6
Speaker: Taylor Grossman
Speaker Bio:
Taylor Grossman is Director for 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 commissioning editor at Binding Hook, a Virtual Routes 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.
Topic 3: Big Tech and Cyber Conflicts
Hours: 6
Speaker: Michele Colajanni
Speaker Bio:
Michele Colajanni is professor of Cybersecurity at the University of Bologna, of Cyber conflicts at JHU, and of Cybersecurity management at the Bologna Business School. He managed research programs and courses on cyber topics for several universities and Institutions.
Topic 4: Enhancing Cyber Capacity Building in Africa: opportunities & challenges
Hours: 4
Speaker: Martin Koyabe
Speaker Bio:
Martin has over 30 years of experience working on ICT deployment, innovation, research and development, policy, regulation, and legislation. He is a Senior Manager and Technical Lead at the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise (GFCE) Africa; and founder of MWK Consult a tech-startup on AI and Emerging Tech operating in Africa
Topic 5: Digital Sovereignty: What It Is and the Main Threats to National Cyberspace (ONLINE)
Hours: 2
Speaker: Roberto Baldoni
Speaker Bio:
Roberto Baldoni is an internationally recognized computer scientist and senior official in the fields of intelligence and cybersecurity. He served as Deputy Director General of Italian Intelligence and was the founder and first Director General of Italy’s National Cybersecurity Agency (ACN) from 2021 to 2023. A longtime professor at Sapienza University of Rome, he is now Honorary Professor, having taught for over two decades and established Italy’s first research center on Cyber Intelligence in 2010. He currently serves as Senior Advisor for Technology and Cybersecurity Policy to the Italian Ambassador to the United States. His work at the intersection of technology and geopolitics has been featured in several books and in Italy’s leading national newspapers.
Topic 6: War and Non-War Activities in Cyberspace: Theory and Practice
Hours: 4
Speaker: Dominika Dziwisz
Speaker Bio:
Dominika Dziwisz, PhD, Assistant Professor at the Department of National Security at the Faculty of International and Political Studies of the Jagiellonian University in Krakow. Since October 2020, she has been the head of two English-language undergraduate programs: International Relations and Area Studies (IRAS) and Global and Development Studies (GLAD).