Mary Aiken

Dr Mary Aiken is a world-leading expert in Cyberpsychology – the study of the impact of technology on human behaviour. She is a Professor of Cyberpsychology and Chair of the Department of Cyberpsychology at Capitol Technology University, Washington D.C.’s premier STEM University. Mary is a Professor of Forensic Cyberpsychology at the University of East London and an Adjunct Professor at the Geary Institute for Public Policy University College Dublin.

Member of the INTERPOL Global Cybercrime Expert Group and an Academic Advisor to the European Cyber Crime Centre (EC3) at Europol, she is a Fellow of The Royal Society of Medicine, a member of the Medico-Legal Society and an International Affiliate Member of the American Psychological Association (APA). She is a Global Fellow at the Washington DC Wilson Center, a leading worldwide think tank and a Fellow of the Society for Chartered IT Professionals. Mary is recognised as an international expert in policy debates at the intersection of technology and human behaviour.

Professor Aiken regularly appears on radio, television and on the tech conference circuit, she is an established subject matter expert speaker on Cyberpsychology, Human Factors in Cybersecurity, Trust and Safety and Online Safety Technologies or “Safety Tech.”

In 2013, Professor Aiken co-led a White House research team as part of the Obama Administration's initiative 'Tech. v's Human Trafficking' and was inaugurated into SameShield an organisation that honours women’s leadership in traditionally closed professions, In 2014 she was listed in the 100 top women in science, technology, engineering and maths. In 2016 she was named as one of the top 50 most inspiring women in technology in Europe. Mary was inducted into the Infosecurity Europe Hall of Fame in 2017, in recognition of her contribution to the information and cybersecurity sector. In 2019 and 2021 Mary was named in the top 50 women in GovTech in the Asia Pacific region. She has advised at national and European level in policy debates on cybersecurity and safety online. She was awarded the Freedom of the City of Dublin for her services to cyber safety and security worldwide, previous recipients include former US presidents John F Kennedy and Bill Clinton, Nelson Mandela and Mother Teresa.

Mary is currently UEL co-lead on a five million euro EU Horizon 2020 research project investigating human and technical drivers of cybercrime, with a specific focus on juvenile cyber delinquency and criminality. She is an Expert Advisor on online harm and online safety technologies (Safety Tech) on a number of projects commissioned by the UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) such as "The Online Safety Data Initiative" which brings together expertise from a range of government, academic, industry, and civil society stakeholders.

A published, peer-reviewed author, her work as a Cyberpsychologist inspired the CBS primetime television series CSI: Cyber, she was a producer on the show. Her book, ‘The Cyber Effect’ was selected by the Times as a 2016 ‘book of the year’ in the Thought category and was listed in the top twenty science books by Nature the International Journal of Science. A published, peer-reviewed author, Professor Mary Aiken has been featured by CBS, BBC, New York Post, Newsweek, NPR, Inside Edition, Scientific American, Variety, the Atlantic, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Sunday Times, The Guardian, Hollywood Reporter and Time Magazine.