Piret Pernik is a Researcher at the Strategy Branch of the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre for Excellence (CCDCOE). Since 2024, she is a PhD candidate at the Military Technologies Department of the National Defence University, Finland. She has worked in the cybersecurity research area since 2013. Prior to joining the CCDCOE in 2019, Piret Pernik was a Research Fellow at the International Centre for Security and Defence (ICDS), Estonia’s largest think-tank focused on security and defence matters between 2012-2019. She also worked as a Researcher at the Estonian Academy of Social Sciences in 2019. Between 2003-2013 she served in the Estonian Ministry of Defence in the defence policy planning section. She worked as an Adviser of the National Defence Committee of the Parliament of Estonia in 2009-2012. She has authored and co-authored research reports and policy analysis, including book chapters, and published in peer-reviewed scientific journals. She is the editor of a CCDCOE volume of collected papers entitled “Cyberspace Strategic Outlook 2030: Horizon Scanning and Analysis” (CCDCOE, 2022), and co-editor of the volume of “Cyber Threats and NATO 2030: Horizon Scanning and Analysis.” She is a frequent speaker at conferences and moderates discussions at the international events. She holds a Master’s degree on Social Theory (Sociology), and on International Relations and European Studies from Estonian Institute of Humanities, University of Tallinn and Central European University, Budapest respectively. Piret was part of the inaugural 2023-2024 cohort of the UC Berkeley Tech Policy Fellowship hosted by University of California, Berkeley, Goldman School of Public Policy & CITRIS and the Banatao Institute Policy Lab. She is a member of the Estonian Institute of Human Rights.