Dr. Sigurður Emil Pálsson

Dr Sigurður Emil Pálsson is an independent physicist and risk specialist with four decades of experience in preparing societies for, and responding to, human-made threats. After 27 years in radiation protection and emergency preparedness, he led the development of Iceland’s national cyber security strategy. From 2022 to 2025 he was Iceland’s first Senior National Representative at the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE) in Tallinn, working in the Operations Branch as the only civilian among military colleagues; his work on resilience in a military framework contributed to his being named an honorary Ambassador of the Centre. He works with Ukrainian scientists and engineers, citing their work and making introductions. He has been the only Icelandic participant at the Kyiv International Cyber Resilience Forum and at the Munich Cyber Security Conference in recent years. He teaches and conducts research at the University of Iceland, including on the effects of culture on resilience.