Pavlina Pavlova

Co-Founder

Vienna, Vienna, Austria10 yrs 10 mos experience
AI Enabled

Key Highlights

  • Founder of Critical Cyber documenting human toll of cyber threats.
  • Led UN negotiations on Cybercrime Convention.
  • Frequent speaker at international cybersecurity events.
Stackforce AI infers this person is a Cybersecurity Policy Expert with a focus on international law and stakeholder engagement.

Contact

Skills

Core Skills

Cyber PolicyStakeholder EngagementCybercrime LegislationPublic-private PartnershipsStakeholder ConsultationsResearchVictim SupportPolicy InitiativesLegislative FrameworksCapacity-buildingHuman Rights

Other Skills

Public PolicyCyberlawArtificial Intelligence (AI)Policy DevelopmentEmerging TechnologiesStrategic PartnershipsInternational LawInternational SecurityGovernmentInternational OrganizationsInformation and Communications Technology (ICT)Diplomacy

About

Pavlina Pavlova is a policy expert in international cybersecurity and transnational cybercrime, and founder of Critical Cyber, a global initiative documenting the human toll of cyber threats. She has worked across civil society and national, regional and international institutions, including the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the European Parliament. Pavlina has led stakeholder engagement in the UN process on responsible state behaviour in cyberspace and the negotiations on the UN Convention against Cybercrime, and coordinates the cybercrime working group at the Alliance of NGOs on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice that brings together civil society, technology companies and academic institutions to advance stakeholder input in treaty implementation. Her research addresses how governance frameworks respond to technology-related risks. She was a fellow at New America and the Internet Society and a research awardee at the University of California, Berkeley. Her work has been published and presented at academic and policy institutions, including the Yale MacMillan Center, Harvard Kennedy School, Stanford Internet Observatory, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the United States Military Academy at West Point and the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats. She is a frequent speaker at international events and an advisor to international organisations. She briefed the European Parliament on cyber operations in international conflicts, addressed the protection of critical infrastructure at the Oxford Process on International Law Protections in Cyberspace, the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the German Federal Foreign Office, and examined the use of AI in transnational cybercrime at the Global Cyber Security Capacity Centre at the University of Oxford, among others.

Experience

Special competitive studies project - scsp

International Strategy Forum Fellow

Jan 2026Present · 2 mos

  • The International Strategy Forum (ISF) supports the next generation of problem solvers with extraordinary potential in geopolitics, innovation and public leadership.

Critical cyber

Founder

Dec 2025Present · 3 mos

  • Critical Cyber is a global initiative documenting the human toll of cyber threats. We amplify the voices of people who have lived through and defended against cyberattacks. Their firsthand accounts reveal the real-world harm inflicted on individuals, organizations, and communities, and identify routes to improved resilience.
  • Our work draws on testimony, research, and collaboration with experts to:
  • Inform the public with clear insights into the human cost of cyber incidents, making the stakes visible and understood.
  • Support victims through their recovery, building psychological resilience and helping others prepare, respond, and adapt.
  • Engage decision-makers through evidence-to-policy design, translating frontline experience into policy and accountability reform.
Stakeholder EngagementCyber PolicyPublic Policy

Alliance of ngos on crime prevention and criminal justice

Cybercrime Lead

Feb 2025Present · 1 yr 1 mo

  • Leading stakeholder input on the UN Convention against Cybercrime implementation through direct engagement, information-sharing, expert briefings, and monitoring of cybercrime legislation across UN bodies, member states, civil society, academia, the private sector and the technical community.
Stakeholder EngagementCybercrime Legislation

Unodc

Cybercrime Consultant

Apr 2024Feb 2025 · 10 mos

  • Advised on public-private partnerships combating transnational cybercrime, facilitated stakeholder consultations, and conducted national needs assessments to strengthen cooperation frameworks.
Public-Private PartnershipsStakeholder Consultations

New america

#ShareTheMicInCyber Fellow

Jan 2024Dec 2024 · 11 mos

  • Authored research on data weaponisation and gendered harm to inform victim support and redress.
ResearchVictim Support

Internet society

Mid-Career Fellow

Jun 2022Dec 2022 · 6 mos

  • Competitive fellowship upskilling mid-career leaders in Internet governance.

Cyberpeace institute

Public Policy Advisor

Apr 2022Jun 2024 · 2 yrs 2 mos

  • Advanced policy initiatives across UN processes on responsible state behaviour in cyberspace and cybercrime negotiations, improving legislative and normative frameworks, and collaborated with forensics investigators to present evidence of the human and societal impacts of cyberattacks.
Policy InitiativesLegislative Frameworks

Osce

2 roles

International Consultant

May 2020Mar 2022 · 1 yr 10 mos

  • Coordinated OSCE capacity-building programmes enhancing the human dimension of security in Ukraine and the Western Balkans, trained human rights defenders in digital security to increase security posture, and monitored human rights and security situation to inform OSCE responses.

OSCE Chairmanship Liaison / Programme Officer

May 2019Apr 2020 · 11 mos

  • Represented the OSCE Chair in senior management meetings, coordinating human-dimension priorities across 57 participating States, and delivered programmes and strategic reports shaping non-discrimination policies and practices undertaken by state authorities in the OSCE region.
Capacity-BuildingHuman Rights

Ministry of interior of the slovak republic

State Counsellor

Jan 2019Jun 2020 · 1 yr 5 mos

  • Seconded expert to the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) representing the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

National council of the slovak republic

Parliamentary Adviser

Jan 2018Dec 2018 · 11 mos

  • Advised on healthcare legislation amendments, recommended voting decisions, and delivered proposals adopted into the reform agenda to improve healthcare access and patient care.

European democrat students

Deputy Secretary General

Oct 2015Sep 2017 · 1 yr 11 mos

  • Directed policy initiatives and political events across 35+ member organisations and the European People’s Party and secured institutional funding to support youth participation in policymaking.

Wilfried martens centre for european studies

Policy Research

Apr 2015Oct 2015 · 6 mos

  • Authored research on the geopolitical implications of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

European parliament

2 roles

Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO)

Sep 2014Feb 2015 · 5 mos

  • Informed the European People’s Party Group’s legislative strategy on cybersecurity, cybercrime and electronic communications.

Office of a Member of the European Parliament

Jan 2014Apr 2014 · 3 mos

  • Analysed legislative proposals in the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) and the Committee on Regional Development (REGI).

Education

KU Leuven

Master's degree — European Studies

Charles University

Bachelor's degree — International Area Studies

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