Francesca Spidalieri is a cybersecurity policy and international affairs expert with over a decade of experience advising governments, international organizations, and industry on digital transformation, cyber capacity building, and critical infrastructure resilience. Most recently, she served as International Cyber Policy Advisor at the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), where she led international engagements on emerging technologies, Secure-by-Design principles, software supply chain security, threat intelligence, vulnerability management, and international technical standards.
Beyond federal service, Francesca has advised Fortune 500 companies, international organizations, and senior government officials worldwide. Her consulting portfolio includes projects with the World Bank, ITU, OAS, OECD, NATO, and the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise (GFCE), where she is recognized as a leading expert in cyber capacity building. She has supported countries in developing national cybersecurity strategies, strengthening institutional and human capacity, and implementing targeted technical assistance and financing programs to enhance national cyber resilience. She also contributed to the development of the World Bank’s Sectoral Cybersecurity Maturity Model (SCMM) and has led national cyber maturity assessments and comparative analyses to inform policy, regulatory reform, and investment decisions.
She holds advanced degrees from Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Harvard Kennedy School, and the U.S. Naval War College, and brings a distinct transatlantic perspective to advancing secure digital development, principled technology governance, and international cooperation on cybersecurity.