European Cybersecurity Fellowship 2024-2025

Brita Achberger is a Cyber Project Manager and Political Affairs Staffer for the National Cyber Security Centre NCSC in the General Secretariat of the Swiss Ministry of Defence, where she supports cyber policy making processes. Prior to her current position, she worked in the International Relations Office of the Swiss Cyber Command and joined ECCRI as Fellowship Manager for its inaugural ECCRI Fellowship 2022-2023.

Yasmine Idrissi Azzouzi is a young professional whose expertise spans across international relations, development cooperation, and cybersecurity.

As a dedicated expert at the ITU, the United Nations specialized agency for ICTs, she drives impactful capacity development projects, assisting developing nations in crafting effective cyber policies & strategies through holistic skilling and training programs. Committed to inclusivity, she champions projects promoting a diverse cyber workforce, particularly focusing on women and youth.

Oltjana Beci is a cybersecurity professional currently working for an Albanian government institution. She holds a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in electronic engineering from the Polytechnic University of Tirana, and a master's degree in diplomacy and international relations of the EU from the University of Tirana. Beci’s achievements also include being awarded the OSCE-UNODA Scholarship for Peace and Security to complete a training program in the field of arms control and disarmament as well as the OSCE Young Developers and Entrepreneurs to Advance Start-ups scholarship to attend the European Innovation Academy.

Stella Blumfelde is a PhD Candidate in Security and Strategic Studies at the Department of Political and International Science at University of Genoa. Her research centers on international governance of cyber domain, with a particular focus on cybersecurity and the role of regional organizations in international cooperation in the cyber domain.

Kamil Bojarski is a Senior Analyst at Standard Chartered Client and Third-Party Intelligence team. In this role, he is responsible for the development of intelligence capabilities and tracking adversarial activity targeting the customer and vendor ecosystem of Standard Chartered. He is also a Virtual Teaching Assistant at SANS Institute where he supports students and instructors during FOR578 Cyber Threat Intelligence classes. Previously Kamil worked at QuoIntelligence, Cisco, and Atos holding positions related to developing threat intelligence programs, providing intelligence support to incident response, and leading threat hunting activities.

Julia Carver is a DPhil (PhD) Candidate in International Relations at the University of Oxford and Nuffield College, and a 2022-23 Dahrendorf Scholar at St. Antony’s College. Her work explores the relationship between the development of cybersecurity policies and geopolitical thinking in the ‘digital age’, including how policymakers conceive of digital infrastructure and cyber capacity building as tools for strategic advantage.

Harriet is a Senior Cyber Risk Advisor at AXIS Capital. She supports systemic cyber risk modelling, and produces cyber threat intelligence for underwriting teams. Harriet has systemic risk modelling and threat intel experience in the insurance and financial services industry, including at Tokio Marine Group and HSBC. Her qualifications include CISSP, and she has an MSc from the London School of Economics.

Feodora currently serves as Policy Development Support Manager (GNSO) for the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). In this role, Feodora plays a pivotal part in formulating and recommending substantive policies pertaining to internet governance.

Prior to joining ICANN, Feodora worked on technology policy issues for the European Union, where her work focused on internet governance and emerging technology.

Joseph Jarnecki is Research Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). He researches international cyber support activities including cyber capacity building and cyber capability support in national crises. He conducts further research on Japan’s approach to cyber security, cyber threats to satellite communications, and cybercrime in eastern partnership countries.

Erik Kursetgjerde is the Norwegian representative and a researcher at the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE). Previously, he has worked with Digital Infrastructure and Internet Governance at the Norwegian Ministry of Digitalization and Public Governance, at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) Research Centre on New Technology, and in the IT sector.

Anastasiia Ostrovska is the Head of communications at the National Cybersecurity Coordination Center under the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine. She stepped into this role during the full-scale invasion of Russia into Ukraine. Anastasiia's work is focused on strengthening the national cyber resilience of the state, in particular by organizing the largest cybersecurity events in Ukraine and education programs. She works with government agencies, the private sector, and international partners to ensure successful project implementation.

Anastasiia is responsible for informing the public and stakeholders about current threats and ensuring eHective communication in the case of cyber incidents. She also works on information security projects and conducts training for public sector communicators.

Fabiola Schwarz is a PhD candidate and research associate at the Professorship for Global Security & Technology at the Hochschule für Politik/Technical University of Munich where she teaches seminars in international cyber security policy and social science cybersecurity research.

Fabiola holds an MSc in Politics & Technology from the Technical University of Munich. During her studies, she gained working experience in cyber security consulting at KPMG, and as a student research assistant in the International Cybersecurity project at the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy (IFSH) Hamburg on issues of vulnerability regulation.

Max van der Horst is a Security Researcher that focuses on Vulnerability Intelligence, Geopolitical Risk Analysis, and mass-scale Coordinated Vulnerability Disclosure. His involvement with the Dutch Institute for Vulnerability Disclosure (DIVD) and its Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT) includes coordinating new and ongoing investigations into the public exposure of emerging vulnerabilities and their exploitation in the wild. Through his work, Max aims to support the development of a safer Internet by combining his technical knowledge with an understanding of the broader cyber threat landscape, ethical and legal considerations and collaboration with governments and academia.

Valerio Viscardi, originally from Italy and now based in Brussels, Belgium, is a Cyber Threat Intelligence Analyst at the Mastercard Intelligence Center. In this role, he focuses on examining and analysing the latest cyber threats that might impact Mastercard's information assets and customers worldwide. Valerio is also involved in investigations to support the Security Operation Center and Incident Response teams. Previously, Valerio worked in KPMG on cybersecurity strategy and governance projects for public sector organisations and critical infrastructures. Later, he transitioned into policy roles at the European Commission's Cybersecurity and Capacity Building Unit and the Center for Cybersecurity of Belgium (CCB).