Dr. Mary Aiken appointed Professor of Cyberpsychology & Chair of Department of Cyberpsychology Capitol Technology University – Washington DC

Capitol Technology University is the only independent college in Maryland dedicated to engineering, computer science, information technology and business. Founded in 1927, Capitol is an accredited institution offering associate, bachelor’s and master’s degrees, as well as professional development training and certificates, and partnerships with government and industry. Capitol is designated as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education by the National Security Agency and Department of Homeland Security. The college is located in Laurel, Maryland, a suburban setting midway between Washington, DC and Baltimore. Capitol is committed to providing a quality education that is technology-driven, accessible, affordable and practical.

Professor Mary Aiken is a world leading expert in Cyberpsychology –  the study of the impact of technology on human behaviour. She is a Professor of Forensic Cyberpsychology in the Department of Law and Criminology at the University of East London, and an Adjunct Professor at the Geary Institute for Public Policy University College Dublin, Ireland.

She is a Member of the INTERPOL Global Cybercrime Expert Group, an Academic Advisor to Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) and a member of the EC3 Academic Advisory Board. Professor Aiken is a Fellow of The Royal Society of Medicine, Global Fellow at the Wilson Center (leading US think tank), a member of the Medico-Legal Society of Ireland, an International Affiliate Member of the American Psychological Association (APA) and a Fellow of the Society for Chartered IT Professionals.

Her research interests include; AI, Fintech, SafetyTech, human factors in cybersecurity, organized cybercrime, online behavioural profiling, Internet psychology, personal cyber security and safety, online harms and child protection online.

Professor Aiken is recognised as an international expert in policy debates at the intersection of technology and human behaviour. She co-led a White House research team focused on tackling ‘Technology Facilitated Human Trafficking’ and was appointed by the Department of Communications to the Internet Content Governance Advisory Group.

More recently Mary has been at the cutting edge of a new sector called “SafetyTech” which describes the emerging online safety technologies sector.

What’s the difference between cybersecurity and cyber safety?

It’s binary; cybersecurity protects data, networks and systems;  cyber safety or “SafetyTech’ protects people. Professor Aiken recently addressed the United Nations Internet Governance Forum 2020, which for the first time had a dedicated ‘SafetyTech’ event, hosted by the UK Government.

She was an expert advisor on the UK Gov. report that launched the UK ‘SafetyTech’ sector earlier this year “Safer technology, Safer users”

She also delivered a ‘SafetyTech’ Masterclass for a global bank outlining how ‘SafetyTech’ can be applied to the Financial Services sector.

Prof. Aiken says “It is critical that networks and systems are robust, resilient and secure however, it is equally important that people are psychologically robust, resilient, secure and safe in cyber contexts. SafetyTech describes the emerging online safety technologies sector which delivers solutions to facilitate safer online experiences” 

In 2019 Professor Aiken was named in the top 50 women in GovTech in the Asia Pacific region. She is a spokesperson and expert contributor to the European Commission’s Safer Internet Day, and an Observer to the INTERPOL Specialists Group.

Prior to returning to academia, Professor Aiken worked at a board level in industry; specializing in consumer behavioral profiling, innovation and future thinking. She is a Strategic Advisor to the Paladin Capital Group Cyber fund, and a Scientific Advisor to ARM Holdings’ kids and technology project GenARM2Z.