Dr. Luigi Martino
Senior Research Scientist and Principal Investigator (AI and Cybersecurity), Khalifa University
Dr Martino is Senior Research Scientist and Principal Investigator on AI and Cybersecurity at Khalifa University. He concurrently serves as Adjunct Professor at the University of Bologna, and as Head of the Center for Cyber Security and International Relations Studies (CCSIRS) at the University of Florence, which he has led since he founded it in 2015.
With over 15 years of experience in cybersecurity research, governance, and strategic advisory, Dr Martino has contributed to several international policy processes. He served as Project Manager for an OSCE-funded research project on the implementation of Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) in cyberspace (2018), and as research coordinator in cyber policy for the SPARTA EU Cyber Competence Center under Horizon 2020. In 2017, he was a member of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs delegation to the G7 Ise-Shima Cyber Group, where he contributed to the drafting of the "G7 Declaration on Responsible States Behavior in Cyberspace" (the "Lucca Declaration"). In 2019, he was selected by the US Department of State for the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) on Cyber Security Multi-Regional Cooperation. In 2025 he joined the working group tasked with writing a national quantum strategy for Italy.
Dr Martino is affiliated with leading research institutions including MIT, University College London (STEaPP), the University of Kent, and Bocconi University, and is Associate Research Fellow at ISPI. He also serves on the Research Advisory Group of the Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace and is a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).
Dr Martino obtained his PhD in 2019 from the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, with a dissertation on public-private partnerships for the protection of critical infrastructure
Qualification
PhD (2019), Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa
MA (2015), Economic Intelligence, University of Tor Vergata
MA (2013), International Relations (cum laude), University of Florence
Research Interests
Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence, Intersection between Policy and Technology, National Security, Power Dynamics, Modern and Technology-based Warfare
Publications
Martino, L. (2025). The evanescent concept of cyber power: A data-driven analysis on cyber operations and regime type. Rivista di Digital Politics, 2-3/2025, 503–531. https://doi.org/10.53227/119823
Lezzi, M., Martino, L., Damiani, E., & Yeun, C. Y. (2025). A systematic literature review on AI-based cybersecurity in nuclear power plants. Journal of Cybersecurity and Privacy, 5(4), 1–30. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcp5040079
Martino, L. (2024). Cybersecurity in Italy: Governance, policies and ecosystem. SpringerBriefs in Cybersecurity. Cham: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3- 031-64396-5
Martino, L. (2024). Cyberspace evolution and AI: The international competition and the regional posture in the GCC. Rome: Fondazione Med-Or / Luiss School of Government.
Neri, M., Niccolini, F., & Martino, L. (2024). Organizational cybersecurity readiness in the ICT sector: A quanti-qualitative assessment. Information & Computer Security, 32(1), 38–52. https://doi.org/10.1108/ICS-05-2023-0084