Dr. Gundars Bergmanis-Korāts is the Principal Scientist at the NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence (StratCom COE) in Riga, Latvia. He holds a PhD in signal and image processing from the University of Lorraine, France, which supports his expertise in artificial intelligence (AI) and data analysis.

At StratCom COE, he leads projects on AI in strategic communications, focusing on both the opportunities and risks of new technologies. His research mainly deals with countering digital disinformation, including building AI-based tools to track malicious information campaigns and adapting these solutions for smaller European languages. He also studies the impact of generative AI, such as large language models, on the information environment.

His earlier work explored data brokerage security and the influence of social media platforms. Alongside research, he oversees training courses such as Online and Social Media Analytics and AI for Communicators, ensuring NATO and its partners keep pace with fast-changing technologies.

Dr. Bergmanis-Korāts has co-authored several studies on AI and information operations and regularly presents findings at international conferences. He also shares his expertise in media appearances, including podcasts on AI’s role in modern information warfare.

Chris Spirito is a Nuclear Cyber Security Consultant at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL). He serves as the Cyber Lead for Analytics and Innovation within the International Nuclear Security program at DoE/NNSA, overseeing cyber capacity-building efforts in Ukraine, Korea, Jordan, Germany, Slovenia, Slovakia, and Switzerland. He is also a Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Tartu, Estonia.

A lifelong educator and prolific coder, Chris conducts specialized training courses through U.S. Government capacity-building programs focused on risk reduction. Recent courses include the application of data science for insider threat protection and cyber test and evaluation of hardware in support of supply chain risk management. His hands-on expertise in low-level systems exploitation informs his teaching, bridging the gap between theoretical vulnerabilities and practical defensive strategies.

Before joining INL, Chris was the International Cyber Lead at The MITRE Corporation. He also serves as a board member at WiRED International, an NGO dedicated to delivering health education globally, where he led the development of HealthMap, a mobile program that enables users to download comprehensive medical libraries to underserved communities—a project that showcased his ability to merge coding expertise with humanitarian impact.

Chris holds a BA in Mathematics from Boston College and pursued graduate studies in Mathematics and Cyber Security at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Biostatistics at the Harvard School of Public Health. His unique combination of mathematical foundations, low-level hacking skills, and public health expertise positions him at the forefront of addressing complex security challenges in critical infrastructure sectors.

Dr. LTC. Jason C. Brown is a research scientist and assistant professor at the Army Cyber Institute at West Point. He teaches risk management, organizational security, and systems-based decision making. As a futurist, he studies emerging threats, technological and social trends, and responses to those threats. He also leads a research team investigating cyber law, policy, and strategy issues on behalf of Army and other defense stakeholders. Dr. LTC. Brown has worked within the intelligence, information operations, and cyber career fields. He has authored technical reports on the future of extremism, information warfare, cyber enabled financial crimes, microtargeting, and Chinese soft power.

Phil Susmann is the President of Norwich University Applied Research Institutes (NUARI). During his time at NUARI, Phil has led NUARI’s efforts in research, development, and education in the areas of cybersecurity, defense technologies, information advantage, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. These activities supported the development of the DECIDE® Platform, an immersive exercise design and participation tool that simulates cyber-attacks for organizations and decision-makers in critical infrastructure sectors and the government, allowing them to exercise their abilities to prepare for and respond to cyber incidents effectively. Phil has served Norwich University as Chief Information Officer, Computer Information Systems Department Chair, and Norwich faculty. He developed cybersecurity programs for Norwich University, leading the university to be designated as a National Center of Academic Excellence by the National Security Agency in 2002. Phil also served as the Vice President of Strategic Partnerships and the senior leader responsible for the Senior Military Colleges Department of Defense Cyber Institutes in support of USCYBERCOMMAND. Phil has been a part of developing the Vermont Army National Guard Information Operations Schoolhouse and the Vermont Air National Guard 229th Cyber Operations Squadron. In December 2022, Phil was appointed by Vermont Governor Phil Scott to the State’s new Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council. Phil graduated from Norwich University in Business and earned an MBA from Clarkson University.

Didier Danet is currently an Associate Researcher at the GEODE Center (Geopolitics of the Datasphere) at Paris 8 University. GEODE is one of only two university research centers to have been awarded the “”Center of Excellence”” designation, jointly granted by the French Ministry of Higher Education and the Ministry of the Armed Forces.
He holds a PhD in Management from the University of Rennes. He previously served as Associate Professor at the Saint-Cyr Coëtquidan Military Academy, where he taught public management and led a multidisciplinary research team on the transformations of contemporary conflict. This team carried out multi-year research programs on irregular warfare, lethal autonomous weapons systems, and conflict in the digital domain.
He was also the Director of the Specialized Master’s program Cyber Defense and Crisis Management, designed for military officers as well as senior civil servants and professionals from critical infrastructure sectors.
Didier Danet is the author of numerous academic publications, including books, book chapters, and journal articles. Most recently, he co-edited a volume on hybrid warfare (Rennes University Press , 2025).

Marlen Rein is a diplomat with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia, currently serving as the Estonian Subject Matter Expert at the NATO Energy Security Centre of Excellence (ENSEC COE), where she focuses on the linkage between energy security and cyber security, among other topics. Prior to joining the ENSEC COE, she was posted to the Embassy of Estonia in Madrid, dealing with bilateral political and economic relations. She also worked at the Permanent Representation of Estonia to the European Union, where she handled development cooperation and negotiations over the budget for EU external action, in addition to holding several positions at the Ministry. Before beginning her diplomatic career, she worked as a free-lance journalist for an Estonian daily newspaper. Ms Rein received her MA in East Asian Economy and Society from the University of Vienna in Austria.

Bernard Siman is a Senior Associate Fellow in charge of Hybrid Warfare and Cyber Threats at Egmont- The Royal Institute for International Relations in Belgium. Egmont is the Think Tanks associated with the Belgian Foreign Ministry. He is also Head of Cyber Diplomacy and Statecraft at the Brussels Diplomatic Academy of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). He regularly lectures at the Royal Military Academy in Belgium and at the European Security and Defence College (ESDC), the Common Security and Defence training institution of the European Union. His focus has included Cognitive threats, Dis-Mis-Mal Infornation, Geopolitical consequences of disruptive technologies, as well as Hybrid Threats in the influence area. In the area of Cyber and disruptive technologies, his focus has included how statecraft is exercised in the absence of binding international treaties for disruptive technologies. His experinece spans the academic, private and public sectors, as well as a career in finance. He is a graduate of the Catholic University of Leuven (KU Leuven), and has graduate degrees from Oxford Brooks University (UK), the London School of Economics and Political Science, and Kyoto University in Japan.

Mr. Paweł Dziuba graduated from the Department of Cybernetics at the Military University of Technology, where he also earned an MBA in Cybersecurity, and from the Warsaw School of Economics with a degree in Cybersecurity Management. His expertise in IT, management, and ICT security has been developed through numerous specialized courses. Since November 2024, he has been serving as the Director of the Cybersecurity Department at the Ministry of National Defense.
Mr. Paweł Dziuba began his career in advanced information technology within military institutions, where he earned recognition as a leader in cryptology and cybersecurity projects. He has held significant roles, including Advisor at the Office of the Permanent Representative of Poland to NATO, Director of the Inspectorate of Information Technology, Deputy Director of the National Cryptology Center, Deputy Director of the National Cybersecurity Center, and Director of the Cybersecurity Training Center of Excellence.

Mr.Jiro Minier leads the Threat Intelligence Research & Analysis team at the Deutsche Cyber-Sicherheitsorganisation (DCSO), a Berlin-based cybersecurity competence center, with a personal research focus on China-nexus cyberespionage activity.

His actively involved in the cybersecurity and technology policy debate, including as a NextGen Fellow at the NATO Defense College and as a member of the 2025 cohort of the German Marshall Fund’s Young Strategists Forum.

He has held prior fellowships with Virtual Routes and the Centre for International Security at the Hertie School in Berlin, and was a participant in the German Council on Foreign Relations’ Action Group Zeitenwende.

He holds a BSc in International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science and an MPhil in International Relations and Politics from the University of Cambridge.

Dr. Csaba Krasznay is an associate professor at the Ludovika University of Public Service, his research topic is cybersecurity. He is the former Head of the Institute Cybersecurity at the university. He is also responsible for the master’s degree program in cybersecurity . He is a regular guest lecturer at various local universities and research fellow at Tallinn University of Technology. He graduated from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics in 2003 with a degree in electrical engineering and received his PhD from the Ludovika University of Public Service in 2012 in military technology sciences. In 2011, was voted to the “Security Expert of the Year”, in 2025, to the “Information Security Content Producer of the Year”. He is a board member of The Magyary E-Public Administration Association and the Voluntary Cyber Defense Association, former board member of ISACA Hungary and the Hungarian Electronic Signature Association. He is also a member of the Hungarian Military Science Society and the Scientific Association for Infocommunications. In addition to his higher education activities, he also works continuously for the private sector. He was one of the founders of the cybersecurity startup incubator OXO Cybersecurity Lab. He is a regular speaker at domestic and international conferences, as well as one of the most employed media experts in cybersecurity in Hungary. As his volunteer work, he supports the International Children’s Safety Service and holds classes for children and parents on secure use of the Internet in primary and secondary schools.

Mrs. Inga Žukauskienė is the Director of Cyber Threat Management Department at National Cyber Security Centre of Lithuania. She was also appointed as Director of the Regional Cyber Defence Centre at the National Cyber Security Centre on June 2023. Prior to this, she worked as a cybersecurity manager in business sector and had about 20 years of experience in international relations and cybersecurity policy with history of working at Ministry of National Defence and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She holds MA Degree in Cybersecurity Management at Mykolas Riomeris University in Vilnius and MA in international relations at Vilnius University Institute of International Relations and Political Science. She supports diversity, inclusion and attraction of talents in cybersecurity and she is one of the founders and former leader of the Women4Cyber Lithuania community.

· Current:
Deputy Director of the Community of Interest for Strategy & Defense at the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats (Hybrid CoE). Specializing in Cyber and Emerging Technologies in the context of Hybrid Threats.
· Previously: Policy Advisor at the Austrian Ministry of Defense, responsible for Defense Policy & Strategy in Cyber Defense, Artificial Intelligence, and Emerging Technologies.

Navy Captain Vasco Miguel Ramos Marques Prates is a distinguished officer in the Portuguese Navy with over three decades of service, specialized in Weapons and Electronics Systems Engineering, cyber defence, and strategic operations. Born in Lisbon in 1971, he graduated from the Naval Academy in 1994 with a degree in Naval Military Sciences and later earned postgraduate qualifications in Military Science – Security and Defence, and Occupational Safety and Health.

Throughout his career, Captain Prates has held key operational and leadership roles aboard corvettes, hydrographic vessels, and frigates. On land, he has contributed significantly to weapons and combat systems integration, education & training, and cyber defence development. His expertise led him to represent Portugal in several NATO and EU defence initiatives.

While being assigned at the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE) in Tallinn, Estonia, he led major projects such as the Cyber Commanders’ Handbook, Course Director for NATO accredited training as for the integration of cyber into operational planning and custodian of the NATO publication concerning doctrine for cyberspace operations. His work has fostered international cooperation, and he has played a strategic role in exercises like NATO Cyber Coalition, Locked Shields and Crossed Sword.

Captain Prates is the Portuguese Steering Committee representative in the CCDCOE and member of the managing board of the Portuguese initiative Cyber Academia and Innovation Hub (CAIH).

Captain Prates is now leading the recently created Portuguese Cyber Defence School, being its first Director.

Dr. /Col.John Davies received an MBE in 2022 for “Services to the UK Cyber Ecosystem”. He the co-founder of Cyber Wales, one of the first cyber security clusters in the UK and co-founder & Vice Chair of UKC3, the UK Cyber Cluster Collaboration group, that supports the 20+ cyber clusters across the UK. And he was a co-founder of GlobalEPIC the Global Ecosystem of cyber ecosystems for Partnership and Innovation in Cyber which, today has 32 member ecosystems, from 26 countries across 6 continents.
Academically, Dr John was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of South Wales. He is currently researching another PhD in “Tactical Cyber Power Projection” at King’s College London, Department of War Studies.
Public Sector, Colonel John is an Army veteran, having served for 7 years in UK Special Forces 1983-1990. He is currently serving in a British Army Reserve unit as SO1-Cyber and he is also the Honorary Colonel of 53 Sqn, Royal Corps of Signals. His work with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) includes being an Industry-100 Secondee (i100) and one of the first NCSC CyberFirst Ambassadors.
Professionally, John is director of a number of cyber security start-ups and scale-ups. A Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Information Security (FCIIS), a Certified Ethical Hacker and a SANS ‘Coin Holder’ in Advanced Penetration Testing.
Personal Life: He is a Welsh speaker living in Brecon where he spends his spare-time raising money for Armed Forces charities and trail running with his wife and their 4 Dalmatians.

Dr. Yisuo Tzeng currently works in the division of cybersecurity and decision-making simulation at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research (INDSR), a non-partisan research organization. He also lectures at National Defense University and Tamkang University as an adjunct assistant professor. He holds a B.A. in finance from National Taiwan University and a Ph.D. in political science from the George Washington University in the United States. Dr. Tzeng has been tasked with research on Chinese influence campaign, digital resilience, cyber warfare, and AI in defense. His recent publications cover undersea cable issues in Taiwan, AI and deterrence, AI and cognitive warfare, Taiwan defense reform as well as how Taiwan faced threats posed by China’s underwater, cyber, cognitive, electronic warfare and unmanned platforms. In addition to engaging with Track 1.5 Dialogues with IISS, RUSI, ASPI, and other European defense and security think tanks, Dr. Tzeng has been participating in or tackling wargame design of tabletop exercises regarding how Taiwan copes with strategic communication during contingency and digital resilience under a variety of grey zone threats posed by China with Taiwanese government agencies, think tanks in India and those from London and Washington D.C.

Joseph Jarnecki is a Research Fellow in Cyber Security and Technology at the Royal United Services Institute, a London-based defence and security think tank. He has published research on international cyber and technology policy on topic such as the UK-Japan cyber partnership, crisis response mechanisms established following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and transnational cybercrime networks. His current research focuses on the impact of integrating cloud services in government on national security and defence as well as the future of the UK’s cyber strategy. He was previously a European Cybersecurity Fellow at Virtual Routes and holds a MA from the Department of War Studies at King’s College London.

Dr. Krzysztof Łysek is Deputy Director of the Military Communication Institute in Zegrze, Poland. He received his MSc in Electronics and Telecommunications in 1989 and his PhD in Telecommunications in 2002, both from the Military University of Technology in Warsaw.From 1990 to 2003 he worked at the Military University of Technology, progressing from Research Assistant to Assistant Professor. During this time, he lectured on communication networks, terminal equipment, and protocol testing, and contributed to national and NATO-led projects on interoperability and communication systems. Between 2003 and 2006, Dr. Łysek was Principal Engineer at the TACOMS Post 2000 International Project Office in Paris, where he supported the standardisation of tactical communications for NATO nations. Since 2006, he has held the position of Deputy Director at the Military Communication Institute, where he continues to focus on secure and interoperable communication systems.

Takahiro Sasaki is Rear Admiral (retired) of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), Visiting Professor at Hiroshima University’s Faculty of Law, Visiting Professor at Tokai University’s Institute for Peace, Strategic and International Studies, Visiting Researcher at Meiji University’s Cybersecurity Institute, Ph.D. (Hiroshima University).

After graduating from the National Defense Academy of Japan in 1986, he joined the JMSDF. He subsequently served as a liaison officer for the U.S. Navy’s Third Fleet Command, a student at the Australian Naval Staff College, Commanding Officer of the destroyer “”JS Yubetsu””, Defense attaché at the Embassy of Japan in Russia, Section chief of the Analysis Department of the Defense Intelligence Headquarters, a student at the UK Defence Intelligence School, Commander of the 8th Escort Division, cyber security coordinator at the Joint Staff Office, commander of the C4I Systems Center, and Commander of the Shimonoseki Sub Area Activity of Sasebo Reginal District, before retiring from the Ministry of Defense in 2018 (at the rank of Rear Admiral).

Based on his experience working on the frontlines of diplomacy and security as a defense attaché in Russia, and his work as the first cyber planning and coordinator at the Joint Staff Office, where he was involved in formulating the Ministry of Defense’s cyber attack response guidelines and establishing the Cyber Defense Unit, he specializes in international politics and international relations, with a focus on Russian military and security, as well as information theory, focusing on information warfare, cybersecurity, and intelligence issues. Drawing on this background, his research emphasizes the integration of fieldwork and academic perspectives.

Eugenio Benincasa is a Senior Cyberdefense Researcher at the Center for Security Studies (CSS) at ETH Zurich. Prior to joining CSS, Eugenio worked as a Threat Analyst at the Italian Presidency of the Council of Ministers in Rome and as a Research Fellow at the think tank Pacific Forum in Honolulu, where he focused on cybersecurity issues. He also worked as a Crime Analyst at the New York Police Department (NYPD).

Eugenio holds a MA in International Affairs from Columbia University in New York with a focus on international security, and an Executive Master in Cybersecurity from LUISS University in Rome.

I am a senior cybersecurity and ICT leader with over two decades of experience delivering secure, resilient technology solutions in high-stakes national and international environments. Previous to me current role in the CCDCOE I was serving as Senior ICT Officer with the Defence Forces Ireland, In this role I lead a 30-person technical team supporting over 8,000 users across four countries, overseeing secure network operations, cyber defence, and critical ICT infrastructure.

I have directed the development and implementation of military-grade secure networks, cyber governance frameworks, and large-scale infrastructure projects, including a €25 million high-security data centre build. I have extensive expertise in incident response, vulnerability management, cryptographic communications, and operational resilience, and managed multiple 24/7 security operations centres.

My international experience includes serving as National ICT Officer with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, leading cyber operations for multinational teams, and advising on security strategy for European Battlegroup Headquarters in Strasbourg.

I hold a CISSP certification, a PMP credential, and a Master’s in Electronic Systems Engineering from Cranfield University. I am a graduate of the Program on Cyber Security Studies at the George C. Marshall Centre, reflecting my commitment to global security collaboration.

I bring a unique combination of strategic leadership, deep technical expertise, and operational experience, making me a strong contributor to panels on cyber resilience, defence technologies, security strategy and training.

Nathalie Gratzer is Head of Industry Cooperation at the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE) in Tallinn, Estonia. She leads strategic engagement with industry and fosters collaboration between NATO member states, academia, and the private sector to advance operational readiness in cyberspace.
As a Strategy Researcher specialising in Critical Information Infrastructure Protection (CIIP), Nathalie focuses on the intersection of policy, technology, and resilience. Holding a Master’s degree in Business Information Systems and the CISSP certification, she combines analytical rigour with practical defence expertise to strengthen cyber resilience across national and multinational frameworks.
As a Public Information Officer in the Cyber Battalion of the Swiss Armed Forces, Nathalie bridges communication and strategy between the public, private, and military domains. She supports the national narrative of cyber defence and contributes to exercises and initiatives that enhance readiness and resilience.
Her previous work at the Swiss Federal Office for National Economic Supply shaped national strategies for ICT protection and public-private partnership in cyber resilience—insights she now channels into NATO’s cooperative defence efforts.
Nathalie regularly contributes to international panels and research on public-private-partnership, cyber strategy, hybrid threats, and emerging technologies, advocating for pragmatic and collaborative approaches to securing the digital domain. Dedicated to safeguarding the digital battlespace, Nathalie brings a forward-looking perspective to the question of how democracies can defend proactively while preserving trust, transparency, and international stability.

Dr. Aleksi Kajander is a researcher at the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE) and the Tallinn University of Technology’s Department of Law. He holds a PhD and Master’s degree from the Tallinn University of Technology as well as a second Master’s on Investment Treaty Arbitration from Uppsala University. His work focuses on International law, cybersecurity and human rights.

Professor Akihiro Fujii is a dedicated academic at Hosei University in Tokyo, where he contributes to the Department of Applied Informatics. He also serves as President of the Cyber Defence Innovation Organization of Japan (OCDI), a non-governmental organization focusing on cybersecurity.

His academic path includes a Ph.D. from Tohoku University in computer science and a period as a Visiting Scholar at MIT. He also completed the doctoral coursework at the Graduate School of The University of Tokyo. Before joining Hosei University in 2008, he was a Senior Researcher at National Institute of Science and Technology Policy, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan.

His work focuses on areas such as Distributed Computing, Web System Design, and the Semantic Web. In addition to his research, he contributed to the field by translating Unmesh Joshi’s book, “”Patterns of Distributed Systems,”” into Japanese.

Since assuming the role of President at OCDI, Professor Fujii has been actively engaged in research on Hybrid Threats with institutions such as the UK Defence Academy and the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats (Hybrid CoE) in Helsinki. He is dedicated to leveraging the knowledge gained to contribute to peace in East Asia.