Helene Pleil

Helene Pleil is a Senior Policy Researcher in interface’s Cybersecurity Policy & Emerging Threats programme. Her research focuses on issues of cyber diplomacy, especially with regard to confidence building measures in cyberspace, focusing on international multilateral organisations.

She holds a Master's degree in Peace and Conflict Studies from the Goethe University Frankfurt and the Technical University Darmstadt. In her master thesis she dealt with the challenges of arms control in cyberspace and in this context with the Chemical Weapons Convention. Her thesis was awarded the IANUS prize for scientific and technical peace and conflict research at the Technical University of Darmstadt and later published. She also holds a bachelor's degree in political science from Goethe University Frankfurt.

Prior to joining interface, Helene worked at the Digital Society Institute, ESMT Berlin, where she was responsible for numerous projects and high-level events regarding cyber policy and cyber diplomacy, for example a 1.5 diplomacy track on cybersecurity. 

She also gained work experience at the Cyber Foreign Policy Coordination Staff of the German Foreign Office, at Deloitte in Public Sector Advisory on Cyber Strategy, PEASEC, an interdisciplinary research institute on technical peace research, and the Schader Foundation.

Helene has spoken at conferences and events, and wrote various reports and blogposts.