Victoria Baines

Biography

Dr Victoria Baines is a writer and academic and a leading authority on online trust, safety and cybersecurity. Formerly Facebook’s Trust & Safety Manager for Europe, Middle East and Africa, she has also worked in law enforcement. She now works to support policy makers in areas of safety and security, as well as raising wider awareness of issues, from trust to ethics, likely to affect society and business.

At Facebook, Victoria’s role saw her deliver operational support to law enforcement agencies, as well as strategic involvement with policy makers on online criminal activity. Prior to that she led the Strategy Team at Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre (EC3), where she was responsible for the EU’s cyber threat analysis, and designed and developed the European cybercrime threat analysis programme. Before that, Victoria was Principal Analyst at the UK Serious Organised Crime Agency, responsible for the national threat assessment of online child exploitation and abuse, having started her career as a Higher Intelligence Analyst for Surrey Police.

Taking a broader view of the online world, Victoria brings insight to a complex and much misunderstood area. She tackles the realities and myths of cybersecurity, challenges assumptions that people are always the weak link, and asks why solutions are so off-puttingly technical. She looks at the impact of social media and issues such as fake news, online bullying and trust. In a world where rumour and opinion is labeled as fact, where Facebook is a chief news source, and (perhaps surprisingly) the people most likely to share fake news are over 65, what does it all mean for individuals and organisations. Alongside current concerns Victoria also analyses a future of AI and VR and examines biases, freedom and what it means when someone invades your personal space in a virtual environment.

Victoria is Principal and Founder of Cartimandua Insight, a resource that helps governments and technology companies navigate global cyber-diplomacy and online safety issues. Her areas of research include electronic surveillance, the changing face of online identity, and the politics of security. She regularly contributes to the BBC, CNN and other media outlets on digital ethics, cybercrime and the misuse of emerging technologies. She also co-hosted the Cyber Warrior Princess podcast, where she demystified cybersecurity for a popular audience.