Dr. Alexander Klimburg appointed new Head of Centre for Cybersecurity at World Economic Forum

The Hague, 11 January 2022 – Dr. Alexander Klimburg has been appointed as the new Head of the Centre for Cybersecurity at the World Economic Forum. He has stepped down as the HCSS Director of the Cyber Policy and Resilience Program, but will remain a Senior Fellow of the program.

HCSS is thankful for Alexander’s contributions to HCSS’ Cyber Policy and Resilience Program over the past seven years, spearheading a wide range of innovative projects pertaining to international peace and security in cyberspace. Under his leadership, the HCSS cyber program evolved into an impressive portfolio of initiatives that covers the diplomatic, national security and military dimensions of new technologies. Thanks to his norm entrepreneurship, HCSS lead the Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace (GCSC), which made a significant impact on responsible state behavior in cyberspace, and his role as initiator and rapporteur of the Sino-European Cyber Dialogue (SECD) has anchored this dialogue as the longest-running track 2 dialogue of its kind in the world. Beyond many other contributions to advancing the multistakeholder model in cybersecurity, his technical and policy expertise laid the foundation for HCSS’ efforts to advance cyber norms, national resilience and deterrence.

HCSS will continue to develop its well-established cyber program, ranging from research and facilitation on a wide range of cyber policy issues, including on cyber deterrence, resilience and norms, transparency on offensive cyber capabilities, strategic digital autonomy, counter-hybrid and disinformation efforts. Moving ahead, HCSS remains committed to addressing future digital challenges and opportunities, allowing it to be even more impactful in this space.

While we are saddened by his departure, we are thankful for his past leadership and future involvement in the HCSS cyber program. We wish him all the best in his new position at the World Economic Forum, where he will undoubtedly continue to make significant strides towards a more secure and stable cyberspace.