Allison Pytlak

Allison Pytlak

Cyber Program Lead

Region(s): Global, North America
Country of focus: Canada, United States
Based in Toronto

Details

Current Occupation: Cyber Program Lead
Organization/Institution: Stimson Center

Media

Can You Hack a Nuke? Inkstick Media Podcast Jul 24, 2023

Striking the Right Balance Stimson Commentary Apr 14, 2023

Joint civil society statement on cyber peace and human security Delivered to United Nations Oct 13, 2022

Regulating new tools of warfare: Insights from humanitarian disarmament and arms control efforts Project Ploughshares report Mar 2022

Progressing Cyber Accountability: The Private Sector, NGOs, and the UN Stimson Center webinar Dec 7, 2021

Addressing Gender in the Arms Trade Treaty Process Stimson Center  webinar Oct 6, 2021

Who Rules Cyberspace? Engaging Civil Society Chatham House audio Nov 12, 2020

The Trudeau government is fueling a humanitarian crisis in Yemen The Globe and Mail Sept 24, 2020

Why gender matters in international cyber security Reaching Critical Will publications April 2020

Trump Will Fuel War Across World by Increasing U.S. Global Arms Sales Newsweek Sept 30, 2017

A New Generation Seeks to Ban the Bomb University of Toronto magazine Sept 13, 2017

Allison Pytlak (@a_pytlak) is the Program Lead of the Cyber Program at the Stimson Center, a think tank in Washington D.C. that aims to enhance international peace and security through analysis and outreach. Her work in this area has examined inter-state cyber operations and international governance structures with a focus on United Nations processes and frameworks. Allison has leveraged her significant experience in multilateral arms control and disarmament policy to identify opportunities to effectively advance law and norms for the prevention of cyber harm.

In her prior role with the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), Allison monitored and reported on the UN’s working group on state behavior on cyber space and played an important role as a liaison and advocate for civil society participation. She has researched, published, and provided numerous trainings about the gendered and human rights-based dimensions of cyber security and diplomacy.

She managed WILPF’s disarmament program, contributing to its monitoring and analysis of UN disarmament processes including on cyber security and advanced feminist perspectives on international security topics through research and advocacy. Allison has worked within international civil society disarmament networks for more than 15 years, including as former staff of the Control Arms Coalition and on the governance body of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, recipient of the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize.

She holds an Honours B.A. in International Relations from the University of Toronto and an M.A., also in International Relations, from the City University of New York where her graduate research focused on inter-state cyber conflict. She is a listed expert with the Forum on the Arms Trade, a 2018 UN Women Metro-NY “Champion of Change” and co-host of the podcast series Think & Resist.