Dr. Victoria Baines

Dr Victoria Baines is a leading authority in the field of online trust, safety and cybersecurity. She regularly contributes to the BBC, CNN and other major broadcast media outlets on digital ethics, cybercrime and the misuse of emerging technologies, including Virtual Reality. Victoria is the 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 is co-host of the award-nominated Cyber Warrior Princess podcast, demystifying cybersecurity for a popular audience. For several years Victoria was Facebook’s Trust & Safety Manager for Europe, Middle East and Africa. Her work focused on operational support to law enforcement, and strategic engagement with policy makers on criminal activity online.

Before joining Facebook, Victoria led the Strategy team at Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre (EC3), where she was responsible for the European Union’s cyber threat analysis. She designed and developed the iOCTA, the EU’s flagship threat assessment on cybercrime, and authored 2020, scenarios for the future of cybercrime that were the basis for an award-winning short film series of the same name.

She also led the Virtual Global Taskforce’s threat assessments on online child exploitation, and the analytical arm of the European Financial Coalition against commercial sexual exploitation of children online. Prior to this, Victoria was Principal Analyst at the UK Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), the forerunner of the National Crime Agency. There she was responsible for the UK’s threat assessment of online child exploitation and abuse, and authored global law enforcement’s contribution to the 2008 World Congress against the sexual exploitation of children. 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 an award for outstanding achievement. Victoria serves on the Advisory Boards of cybersecurity firm Reliance ACSN and the International Association of Internet Hotlines (INHOPE), and is a trustee of the Lucy Faithfull Foundation. She is a graduate of Trinity College, Oxford and holds a doctorate from the University of Nottingham, UK. She is a Visiting Fellow at Oxford University’s Department for International Development, Bournemouth University’s School of Computing, and the Stanford Internet Observatory.