Victoria Baines (Professor)

Professor Victoria Baines is a leading online trust, safety and cybersecurity authority.

She frequently contributes to major broadcast media outlets on digital ethics, cybercrime and the misuse of emerging technologies, including Extended Reality and Artificial Intelligence.

Her research areas include electronic surveillance, cybercrime futures, and the politics of security.

Victoria has published on cyberspace governance, online surveillance, the future of cybercrime, and security politics.

Drawing on her Classical education, her book Rhetoric of Insecurity (Routledge, 2021) sheds light on 2000 years of security speak. It’s a toolkit for understanding why security issues always seem novel, urgent and divisive. She also provides research expertise to several international organisations, including Interpol, UNICEF and the Council of Europe.

Facebook Trust & Safety Manager

Victoria Baines was Facebook’s Trust & Safety Manager for Europe, the Middle East and Africa for several years.

At Facebook, she focused on operational support to law enforcement and strategic engagement with policymakers on online criminal activity.

Before joining Facebook, Victoria led the Strategy team at Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre (EC3), where she was responsible for the EU’s cyber threat analysis. She designed and developed the iOCTA, Europe’s flagship threat assessment on cybercrime, and authored Projects 2020 and 2030, scenarios for the future of cybersecurity that were the bases for award-winning movies.

Before this, Victoria was the Principal Analyst at the UK Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA). She began her career in law enforcement in 2005 as a Higher Intelligence Analyst for Surrey Police. In 2008, the International Association for Law Enforcement Intelligence Analysts recognised Victoria’s work with a global award for outstanding achievement.

Positions held by Victoria include:

• Senior Research Associate of the Intellectual Forum at Jesus College, Cambridge.
• Senior Research Fellow of the British Foreign Policy Group.
• Chair of the Information Security Panel of the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists.
• A member of the Safety Advisory Board of Snapchat.
• A member of the Advisory Board of cybersecurity provider Reliance Cyber.
• Fellow of the British Computer Society.
• Trustee of the Lucy Faithfull Foundation.

Victoria is a former Visiting Research Fellow at Oxford University and was a guest lecturer at Stanford University in 2019 and 2020. She is a Trinity College, Oxford graduate with a doctorate from the University of Nottingham.

• What’s the Problem with Encryption?
• The Future of Cybersecurity
• Cyber Crime and Cyber Threats
• How to Fight Fake News
• Online Trust and Safety
• Artificial Intelligence
• Digital Ethics
• Defeating Digital Viruses: Lessons from the Pandemic
• Cybersecurity for Humans
• Social Media
• Safety in a Digital World
• Tech Policy