Nele Achten is a PhD in law candidate conducting research in the field cybersecurity, international and comparative law.
The focus of Nele’s research is on preventive obligations and the distribution of responsibilities between states and private businesses. Nele has recently worked as research assistant with the Cyberlaw Clinic at Harvard Law School. She also did consultancy work for the international human rights organisation Access Now, the Swiss foundation ICT for peace and the Geneva Center for Security Sector Governance. In addition, Nele is giving capacity-building workshops for diplomats on international law, norms and cybersecurity.
As an affiliate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society she has founded and is leading a working group on cybersecurity: law, tech and policy. Prior to starting her PhD studies at the University of Exeter, she was a lecturer of constitutional and migration law for law enforcement officers. She is admitted to the bar in Germany and holds a LL.M. from the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights. During her legal traineeship of the German government, she worked at the German embassy in Colombia, the European office for judicial cooperation in criminal matters (Eurojust) and Amnesty International.