RESEARCH INTERESTS

Critical intersections of AI, Digital Power & Governance

My research examines the critical fault lines where digital power, artificial intelligence, and governance collide—areas in which technological acceleration outpaces legal certainty, institutional readiness, and social resilience. These intersections expose systemic blind spots: zones where regulation, accountability, and collective understanding lag behind the operational deployment of AI-enabled systems and cyber capabilities. In such contexts, risk is not merely technical, but deeply institutional, political, and normative.

Grounded in long-standing forensic expertise and expanded through a multidisciplinary framework encompassing legal informatics, cyber geopolitics, behavioural risk analysis, and AI governance, my research is structured around three strategic domains. Together, these domains inform the analytical direction of Toralya and form an integrated framework for risk interpretation, intelligence modelling, and governance-oriented policy innovation.

This approach goes beyond mapping complex threat landscapes. It aims to anticipate the cascading effects of AI-amplified cyber incidents on governance structures, economic stability, democratic processes, and fundamental rights. It recognises that digital threats rarely remain confined to technical boundaries, often acting as accelerators of geopolitical tension, regulatory stress, and public distrust.

By combining forensic precision with strategic foresight, my work bridges operational intelligence and normative governance frameworks, offering decision-makers actionable insight under conditions of high uncertainty. Central to this framework are traceability, verifiability, and contextual depth—ensuring that intelligence outputs remain defensible, accountable, and ethically grounded.

In practice, this research translates into advanced dark web forensics, cross-border attribution analysis, and the modelling of adversarial behaviour through the combined assessment of technical indicators and socio-political signals. It also supports scenario-based governance and policy stress-testing, enabling institutions to evaluate legal, regulatory, and organisational responses before crises fully materialise.

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Researching the Strategic
Frontiers of AI-Enabled Risk

A multidisciplinary inquiry into how artificial intelligence, cyber threats, legal asymmetries, and infrastructural power reshape governance, institutional accountability, and global risk landscapes.

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Democracy, Disinformation
& AI Manipulation

This research domain examines how artificial intelligence, synthetic media, and algorithmic influence operations undermine democratic integrity and reconfigure public trust.

My work focuses on the manipulation of electoral systems, the rise of cognitive and information warfare, and the weaponisation of automated persuasion. Particular attention is given to AI governance in democratic processes, including the legal oversight of e-voting, algorithmic influence, and surveillance architectures shaping political behaviour.

This line of inquiry is closely connected to my academic work on deepfakes, disinformation, and democratic risk.

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Dark Web, Crypto Forensics
& Legal Grey Zones

This area investigates the hidden layers of the digital economy, where opacity, obfuscation, and jurisdictional evasion intersect with artificial intelligence and financial crime. Research focuses on dark web ecosystems, illicit service markets, laundering infrastructures, and decentralised networks. Central to this domain is the analysis of crypto-asset tracing, AML methodologies, and AI-assisted financial crime, alongside the legal blind spots surrounding zero-day markets and offensive tools. By integrating forensic OSINT, infrastructure mapping, and behavioural profiling, this work exposes the power asymmetries and governance gaps embedded within these grey zones.

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Embedded Threats
& Behavioural Exposure

This strand of research explores how ambient and embedded digital infrastructures, often perceived as neutral or invisible, generate individual and systemic vulnerability. My focus includes telemetry tracking, drone-enabled surveillance, mobile and vehicle data exploitation, and the behavioural architectures underlying digital exposure. Particular emphasis is placed on AI-driven amplification of harm, including cyber harassment, hate targeting, and automated surveillance.This work contributes to the development of protective intelligence models and digital self-defence frameworks, with a strong governance perspective on accountability, proportionality, and the protection of exposed communities.


Latest articles and insights

Thinking critically at the edge of complexity.Analyses and reflections on the forces shaping our digital future.

Board & Executive RiskCyber Risk & ComplianceDigital ForensicsEnterprise AI GovernanceTechnology Governance

From cyber exposure to enterprise AI governance: the forensic foundations of authority

by F.B.
on Gen 8
As AI becomes embedded across enterprise decision-making, governance is increasingly framed as a board-level responsibility. However, AI authority cannot be sustained without forensic readiness and cyber-risk awareness. This article examines why enterprise AI governance in 2026 must be grounded in digital forensics to ensure demonstrable accountability, auditability, and decision legitimacy under pressure. It argues that cybersecurity and forensics are no longer technical support functions, but core governance infrastructure. Without them, organisations may automate faster, but they lose the ability to retain authority when decisions are contested.
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AI GovernanceCyber Risk & SecurityDigital ForensicsResponsible AITechnology Risk Management

AI Governance beyond frameworks: why cyber and forensic intelligence are non-negotiable

by F.B.
on Gen 5
AI governance is increasingly defined through ethical principles, regulatory frameworks, and organisational policies. However, as AI systems operate within contested digital environments, governance models that ignore cyber risk and forensic realities prove structurally inadequate. This article argues that effective AI governance in 2026 requires a shift from abstract frameworks to adversarial-aware control structures. By integrating cyber intelligence and forensic reasoning, organisations can design governance models capable of withstanding manipulation, system degradation, and post-incident scrutiny. Without this foundation, AI governance remains aspirational rather than enforceable, particularly in high-risk, automated decision-making contexts.
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AI & Regulatory ReadinessAI Governance & Responsible AICybersecurity StrategyDigital GovernanceStrategic Cyber Risk ManagementTechnology Risk & Control

AI Governance in cybersecurity 2026: decision rights and control architecture for accountable automation

by F.B.
on Gen 2
This article examines the evolution of AI governance in cybersecurity at the start of 2026, focusing on decision rights and control architecture as foundational mechanisms for accountable automation. As AI-driven systems increasingly participate in security decisions, ranging from threat detection to autonomous response, traditional governance models based on principles and static compliance prove insufficient. The analysis argues that effective AI governance depends on clearly defined decision rights, enforceable control boundaries, and the ability to reconstruct and audit AI-enabled actions under pressure. By integrating governance directly into cybersecurity control architectures, organisations can align automation with accountability, reduce systemic cyber risk, and ensure regulatory and institutional defensibility. The article offers a forward-looking, evidence-based perspective on how AI governance must evolve to remain credible, resilient, and operationally effective in high-risk digital environments.
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Contact me

Licensed by DMCC – Dubai, UAE

 I engage in governance-focused advisory activities, strategic research exchange, and institutional dialogue related to AI risk, cybersecurity, and digital regulation.

Email: info@toralya.io


 Licensed by DMCC – Dubai, UAE

All messages are read personally. I will get back to you as soon as possible.