Dr. Victoria Baines

Dr. Victoria Baines is a leading cybersecurity expert, former intelligence analyst and former Trust and Safety Manager at Facebook. She is renowned as a leading voice in internet safety, international law enforcement, public policy and cybercrime, and has a research focus in international online child protection policy. She has written widely, co-hosts the Cyber Warrior Princess podcast, and has appeared extensively in the media including on CNN and the BBC.

After studying Classics at Oxford, Baines completed a PhD in Roman Literature, before leaving academia to pursue a career in law enforcement. She served as a Higher Intelligence Analyst with Surrey Police, then as Principle Analyst at the Serious Organised Crime Agency’s Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, and finally joined Europol as a Strategy Team Lead. Here she served with the organisation’s European Cybercrime Centre, conducting forward-thinking intelligence analysis and exploring risks and opportunities presented by emergent technology.

In 2013, Baines became Trust and Safety Manager of Facebook’s Europe, Middle East and Africa division. Here she worked on safety issues and engaged with policy makers regarding criminal activity online. Baines is today a Visiting Associate of the Oxford Internet Institute and a Visiting Research Fellow at the Oxford Department of International Development. She is a member of the Advisory Boards of the International Association of Internet Hotlines (INHOPE) and of security service Reliance ACSN, a trustee at The Lucy Faithfull Foundation and a Senior Advisor at child protection charity ECPAT International.