Tima Soni

Chief, Cybersecurity Division, UNICC

Tima Soni Chief, Cybersecurity Division, UNICC Tima Soni joined UNICC in 2016 as Head, Information Security Services. In 2019, she was appointed as Chief, Cybersecurity Division to oversee the cybersecurity programme for UNICC and deliver cybersecurity services to UNICC’s Clients and Partner Partner Organizations. Tima oversees UNICC’s cybersecurity team of experts in New York, Valencia, Rome and Geneva for UNICC’s more than 40 subscribers to information security services. She has served as Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for several UNICC Partner Organizations including UN Women, the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) and she also currently serves as the CISO for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

Tima has worked to develop and implement information security programmes by delivering various information security initiatives including information security governance, risk management, security operations and security awareness as per industry best practices. Tima strongly believes in collaboration and sharing of knowledge within the UN cybersecurity community. She has spearheaded the development of many common cybersecurity solutions within the UN family. She has helped UN Agencies in responding to complex cybersecurity incidents and developed cybersecurity roadmaps for many UNICC Clients and Partner Organizations. She oversees the delivery of several UNICC cybersecurity services that include the Common Secure threat intelligence network that UNICC runs within the UN system, the Common Secure Operations Centre, cybersecurity maturity assessment, testing and incident response services as well as common UN PKI services.

Previous Experience :

Before joining UNICC, Tima worked for the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) where she worked closely with the technical teams responsible for performing inspections in more than 190 OPCW member countries providing confidentiality and information security support. Before that, she worked for IBM to develop and deliver information security services to IBM customers. Tima holds an MSc in Information Technology, MSc in Cyber Crime and Computer Forensic Investigations and a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Mathematics. Tima holds industry information security certifications CISSP, CISA, CISM, GCFA, GWAPT, ISO 27001 Lead Auditor and Implementer. Tima was part of the team that won the Nobel Peace Laureate Award in 2012 for her contribution to the OPCW's work during the Syria crisis.