Between Cybersecurity and Crisis Management

WITH A THESIS HONORED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION SECURITY IN ROME, ARIANNA PEDRINI NOW WORKS IN CYBERSECURITY IN BRUSSELS


International relations, peacekeeping and conflict management are passions that emerged slowly, during her studies. First a degree in Political Science, then an MSc in Economics of Government and International Organizations at Bocconi, then a Master's degree in International Security – Intelligence Studies at Sciences Po. And precisely because of her thesis at the University at Via Sarfatti entitled Situational Awareness in Transboundary Crisis Management, Arianna Pedrini, a 25-year-old Cremona native, received the prize "A Thesis for National Security" on 12 September, conferred by the Department of Information Security at the new headquarters of Intelligence in Rome. "We presented our thesis before the intelligence leadership," says Arianna, "then we were given the award. It was really exciting." Arianna now works in Brussels, at PricewaterhouseCoopers, where she deals with crisis management and cybersecurity. "My job is to prepare clients, who are both public and private institutions, to manage crises of various kinds, with a particular focus on the issue of cybersecurity."

This is Arianna's first real job, but she already completed an internship at the European Commission, "where I dealt with security during the 2015 migration crisis." Brussels is a young, exciting and multicultural city, a place Arianna likes living and would like to stay for a while. And the fact that it is the capital of Europe is not secondary: "I really like my current job, it's what I wanted to do and there is plenty of room to grow. Given my education, however, I don't deny that my aim is to move to the public sector sooner or later, perhaps even at the great European institutions. Ensuring the safety of citizens is very important." She has one small regret, however. Despite being very young, Arianna would have liked to be even younger... "I saw that Bocconi and Politecnico have recently inaugurated a Bachelor of Science in cybersecurity," she says. "And if I were starting my university career now, I would not hesitate a moment to enroll. It is a sector that is evolving rapidly, and I hope to see many students considering it."

by Davide Ripamonti
Translated by Jenna Walker