Biography
Dr Kevin A. O'Brien is a Visiting Senior Research Fellow in Digital Intelligence and Cyber Security at King's College London, as well as a consultant on security matters to governments and the private sector.
He has previously held senior roles in the Canadian Government and RAND Europe; served as a security advisor to a number of Western governments on a range of contemporary security, intelligence and defence issues; and taught postgraduate courses in intelligence and security studies at King's College London and the University of Hull, from where he obtained his PhD.
He has written extensively about contemporary intelligence, security and defence matters for more than 30 years.
Research Interests
Kevin’s research interests focus on a number of key areas – including:
- Intelligence and national security – especially across the FIVE EYES (UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand) and other Western countries and alliances
- Cyber-threats, cyber-security and cyber-operations
- Terrorism and counter-terrorism since 1968, in both the real world and the digital world
- Technology, data, and their uses in public safety, security, defence and intelligence
- The privatisation of security, intelligence, and military capabilities since the 1960s
- South African security and intelligence
- African security – particularly in West, Central and Southern Africa