PA Consulting Group Mena has appointed Lydia Kostopoulos, a global expert in human behaviour security, to join its cyber security team.

Kostopoulos was recently featured in the Middle East Security Awards’ top 100 list of cyber security professionals, and joins PA’s cyber security team with a wealth of unrivalled international experience.

She is a former assistant professor in intelligence, national security and cyber security at the Institute for International and Civil Security at Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

In December 2015, she was invited to speak on a cyber security panel at the British Parliament’s House of Commons where she raised the importance of creating a robust security culture and not underestimating the human risk in cyber security.

Based in PA’s Abu Dhabi office, Kostopoulos is working with clients across the Middle East region in a range of sectors to deliver services such as intellectual property protection, proactive counter espionage, and awareness in the areas of security culture, insider threats and social engineering.

Jason Harborow, head of PA Consulting Group Mena, said: “Lydia is a significant appointment for the region.  There has never been so much emphasis for organisations to implement robust cyber security strategies than now and we believe her skills will deliver outstanding levels of expertise to our clients.”

Kostopoulos holds a Certificate in Cybersecurity: The Intersection of Policy and Technology from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government in the US; a PhD in Political Science and Security Studies from the University of Siena, Italy; an MA in Security, Peace, Development and International Conflict from the University of Innsbruck, Austria; and a BA in International Relations from the University of Sharjah, UAE.  She is proficient in English and Spanish, and has an intermediate level of Russian, Italian and Greek.

“The first half of 2016 has seen us bring 30 new members of staff into the regional team which has been vital in delivering the work we are producing for our clients across a variety of industries.  The government services, healthcare, and transport, travel and logistics sectors continue to be major areas of expansion for PA within our region. We are bringing together the best minds in the business to ensure the offering to our current and future clients is unbeatable,” Harborow added. – TradeArabia News Service