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Pete Burnap

Professor Pete Burnap

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Media commentator

Teams and roles for Pete Burnap

Overview

I am Professor of Data Science & Cybersecurity at Cardiff University. I work at the intersection of artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and digital risk, with a focus on the safe, secure and responsible deployment of AI in high-risk and regulated environments. I work with boards, senior executives and public sector leaders on strategic programmes related to AI governance, cyber risk and digital resilience.

Professional & Civic Leadership

Throughout my career, I have aimed to drive innovation in ways that support inclusive economic growth. Rather than pursuing a conventional academic trajectory focused solely on research outputs, I have consistently applied my expertise to address systemic challenges at the intersection of technology, society and national resilience.

Building National Research Capability

In 2012, when I began my academic work at Cardiff University, cybersecurity research was a small and fragmented activity, with only a handful of researchers across the institution. Recognising the growing national importance of digital security, I took on the responsibility of building a cross-disciplinary research community that could support both public and private sector needs.

I established and now lead the Cardiff Centre for Cyber Security Research, which has since grown into Wales’ only Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Research recognised by the UK National Cyber Security Centre and EPSRC. Under my leadership, the Centre now spans five academic schools across three colleges and supports more than 50 researchers and educators, creating a sustainable national capability that did not previously exist in Wales.

Translating Research into National Benefit

Over the last decade, I have led or co-led approximately £40m in competitive funding from UKRI, Government and industry. While this represents significant academic success, I believe my distinguishing contribution has been the deliberate translation of this research into operational systems and public benefit.

My work in AI-enabled cyber defence produced the first peer-reviewed machine-learning based prediction of cyber attack within seconds, techniques that actively blocked cyber attacks and reduced ransomware file encryption by up to 92%, and methods to secure AI systems deployed in safety-critical infrastructure. These innovations have directly supported organisations responsible for national infrastructure, manufacturing and energy systems.

My research has also shaped national understanding of AI governance and assurance, demonstrating that models which perform well in laboratory settings can fail in real-world conditions and may rely on hidden or unintended features when making decisions. This work has informed best practice in risk management and responsible AI deployment.

Industry Immersion and Operational Impact

To ensure my work addressed real-world challenges, I chose to step beyond academia and immerse myself within industry. I spent six years embedded within Airbus through a long-term secondment, where I led a multi-million-euro AI for cyber innovation programme across Europe.

During this period, I established Airbus’ global Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Analytics at Cardiff University and translated academic research into operational tools used within a major multinational organisation. This collaboration underpinned a 4* REF impact case and has been cited nationally as a model for effective academic–industry partnership.

Creating a National Innovation Engine

Building on this experience, I recognised a wider systemic problem: research with clear societal and industrial value often failed to reach the market due to a lack of commercial leadership and coordinated support. 

To address this limitation, in 2022, I founded the Wales Cyber Innovation Hub (CIH), a £13.9m public–private programme funded by Welsh Government and the Cardiff Capital Region. CIH brings together academia, industry and Government within a single governance framework, creating a nationally unique pathway that connects research, industry challenges and funded graduate entrepreneurs to build new cyber and AI start-ups rooted in Wales.

Through CIH, hundreds of individuals have accessed new routes into digital careers, including people from under-represented backgrounds and those reskilling from declining sectors. New start-ups have been created, private investment has been attracted, and a sustainable regional cyber cluster has begun to emerge. This work represents a significant contribution to regional regeneration and national digital resilience.

National Policy Leadership

My expertise and civic leadership have been recognised at national level. I was appointed to the UK Government’s AI Council, where I advised on the development of the UK’s first national AI strategy, influencing long-term public investment and policy direction.

I currently chair the EPSRC Digital Security and Resilience Strategic Advisory Team, which shapes national research priorities and funding in areas critical to the UK’s security and economic future.

Board, Governance & Entrepreneurship

I am a Board Director and Co-Founder of Nisien, a VC-backed online safety company translating publicly funded research into commercial platforms that detect and mitigate online harms.

I also serve as a Non-Executive Director of Business in Focus Ltd, supporting enterprise, innovation and economic development across Wales.

I hold the Institute of Directors Certificate in Company Direction, reflecting my commitment to effective governance and board practice.

Civic Leadership

Across all of these roles, I have consistently aimed to apply my expertise in service of wider society. My work has strengthened national digital resilience, supported economic growth, created opportunities for others, and demonstrated how universities can act as civic anchors for innovation and public value.

My experience supporting government in the design of national and regional AI and cyber strategies and innovation ecosystems enables organisations to align technological ambition with societal trust, regulatory readiness and long-term resilience.

Board & Advisory Focus

AI governance • Cyber risk oversight • Digital resilience • Regulated sectors • Public–private innovation • Trusted AI deployment

Publication

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Articles

Book sections

Conferences

Monographs

Thesis

Research

To date I have been involved in more than 33 research grants, amounting to over £23 million (FEC), with over £10m of this coming to Cardiff University. Funding has been secured from a variety of sources including UKRI (EPSRC/ESRC/InnovateUK), JISC, US Department of Justice, UK DoH, and industry partners (e.g. Airbus, Admiral). I was/am currently Principal Investigator on 16 of these grants (including a £1.8m EPSRC grant on secure ‘Factories of the Future’).

Selected grants include:

Cyber Range and Immersive Cyber Attack Environment (research infrastructure)
* Funded by HEFCW
* £1,272,000 (Burnap)

Demystifying AI for Cybersecurity
* Funded by InnovateUK (/w Airbus)
* £394,784 (Burnap)

PETRAS 2
* Funded by EPSRC
£290,291 to CU (Burnap, Perera et al.)

Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Research (ACE-CSR)
* Funded by EPSRC
* £64,989 (Burnap)

PACE: Privacy-aware cloud ecosystems
Funded by EPSRC
* £757,817 (Rana, Theodorakopoulos, Burnap)

Data innovation accelerator
* Funded by ERDF
* £3,553,220 (funded at 52%) (Burnap & Whitaker).

How Online Technologies are Transforming Transnational Organised Crime (Cyber-TNOC)
* Funded by ESRC.
* £352,862 (Levi, Giommoni, Williams, Burnap)

Hate crime after Brexit: Linking terrestrial and new forms of data to inform governance
* Funded by ESRC
* £253,041 (Williams, Burnap, Sloan)

New Industrial Systems: Chatty Factories
* Funded by EPSRC
* £1,805,111 (Burnap, Murray-Rust, Richards, Preston, Branson)

Identifying Attack Vectors for Network Intrusion via IoT devices Developing a Goal-Oriented Approach to Determining Impact Across Threat Surfaces (IoT Depends)
* Funded by EPSRC PETRAS Hub
* £136,205 (Burnap)

SCADA Cyber Security Lifecycle (SCADA-CSL) 2
* Funded by Foundation Wales – Welsh Government and Airbus Innovations.
* £760,000 (Burnap, Cherdantseva and Theodorakopolous)

Centre for Cyberhate Research & Policy: Real-Time Scalable Methods & Infrastructure for Modelling the Spread of Cyberhate on Social Media
* Funded by ESRC
* £781,243 (Williams & Burnap)

Social Data Science Lab – Methods and Infrastructure Development for Open Data Analytics in Social Research
* Funded by ESRC
* £705.050 (Burnap, Williams, Sloan & Rana)

Understanding Online Hate Speech as a Motivator for Hate Crime
* Funded by National Institute for Justice, US Department of Justice
* £683,152 (Williams & Burnap in partnership with Rand US & Europe)

Event Detection using Open Source Communications
* Funded by Endeavr Wales
* £973,760 (Burnap & Williams in partnership with Airbus Endeavor Wales)

SCADA Cyber Security Lifecycle (SCADA-CSL)
* Funded by Foundation Wales – Welsh Government and Airbus Innovations
* £1,250,000 (Jones, Burnap, Blyth & Stoddart)

Identifying and Modelling Victim, Business, Regulatory and Malware Behaviours in a Changing Cyberthreat Landscape
* Funded by EPSRC under the Global Uncertainties Consortia for Exploratory Research in Security (CEReS) call
* £1,200,000 (Rana, Burnap, Williams, Levi, Matthews, Clarke, Furnell, Ganis, Rajarajan & Wall)

Improving Driver Risk Modeling with Big Data Analytics
* Knowledge Transfer Partnership with Admiral Insurance
* £378,648 (Burnap)

Investigating the link between social media activity and reporting crime
* Funded by Metropolitan Police Service Centre for Scientific and Engineering Excellence
* £49,950 (Burnap & Williams)

Estimating the Propagation of Anti-Semitic Content on Twitter
* Funded by Community Security Trust and the Lewis Trust Group
* £35,000 (Williams & Burnap)

Impact Acceleration Award – Embedding Open Source Intelligence Analytics within the Metropolitan Police Service
* Funded by ESRC
* £25,000 (Burnap, Williams, Rana & Sloan)

Evaluating the Utility of Social Media Analytics for International Development
* Funded by Department for International Development
* £7,500 (Williams & Burnap)

Impact Acceleration Award – Assessing the Market Interest in Big Social Data Analytics
* Funded by EPSRC
* £7,500 (Burnap, Williams, Rana & Sloan)

Digital Wildfire: (Mis)information flows, propagation and responsible governance
* Funded by ESRC (Global Uncertainties)
* £196,333 (Jirotka, Burnap, Williams, Rana, Procter, Housley, Edwards & Stahl)

Detecting Tension and Cohesion in Local Communities with Social Media
* Funded by Airbus Group
* £51,040 (Rana, Burnap, Sloan & Williams)

Social Media and Prediction: Crime Sensing, Data Integration & Statistical Modelling
* Funded by ESRC under the NCRM Methods Innovation Call
* £194,138 (Williams, Burnap, Sloan, Rana, Housley, Edwards, Procter & Voss)

Hate Speech and Social Media: Understanding Users, Networks and Information Flows
* Funded by ESRC and Google
* £124, 986 (Housley, Williams, Burnap, Edwards, Rana, Procter, Voss & Knight)

Digital Social Research Tools, Tension Indicators and Safer Communities: A Demonstration of COSMOS
* Funded by ESRC
* £97,506 (Williams, Rana, Avis, Housley, Edwards & Burnap)

The 2016 Welsh Election Study: A Study of the 2016 Election to the National Assembly for Wales
* Funded by ESRC
* £257,148 (Scully, Jones, Cutts, Sloan, Burnap & Williams)

Digital Social Research Tools, Tension Indicators and Safer Communities: A Demonstration of COSMOS
* Funded by ESRC
* £97,506 (Williams, Rana, Avis, Housley, Edwards & Burnap)

Public perceptions of the UK food system: public understanding and engagement, and the impact of crises and scares
* Funded by ESRC and the Food Standards Agency
* £291,200 (Roberts, Dowler, Draper, Sloan, Williams & Burnap)

Understanding the Role of Social Media in the Aftermath of Youth Suicides
* Funded Department of Health
* £200,000 (Scourfield, Burnap, Williams, Housley & Edwards)

Scaling the Computational Analysis of “Big Social Data” & Massive Temporal Social Media Datasets
* Funded by High Performance Computing Wales
* £45,000 (Burnap, Rana, Sloan & Williams)

Small items of research equipment at Cardiff University
* Funded by EPSRC
* £620,000 (Burnap)

Supporting Empirical Digital Social Research for the Social Sciences with a Virtual Research Environment
* Funded by JISC
* £55,519 (Burnap, Williams, Housley, Rana, Edwards & Avis)

Requirements Analysis for Social Media Analysis Research Tools
* Funded by ESRC
* £5,000 (Burnap, Rana, Avis, Williams, Housley & Edwards)

Sensing Data from the Web to Inform Probabilistic Risk Models. Funded by Welsh European Funding Office (Part of the Smart Operation for a Low Carbon Energy Region (SOLCER) project). £50,000

miConsent: Patient Controlled Access to Distributed Medical Records.
Funded by Technology Strategy Board with Abies Ltd and IMS Maxims. £54,000