Karen Nershi
Assistant Professor of Cybersecurity; Co-Coordinator, Cyber Collaborative

- Tel
- (831) 647-7104
- knershi@middlbury.edu
Through an empirical lens, my research examines international security and cooperation challenges in cybersecurity. Specific topics I explore in my research include ransomware, cross-national regulation of the cryptocurrency sector, and international cooperation around anti-money laundering enforcement.
Before joining MIIS, I was an Assistant Professor at IE University in Madrid, Spain and a Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University’s Stanford Internet Observatory and the Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC). I earned a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Pennsylvania in 2021.
I am a winner of the Perry World House Foreign Affairs Emerging Scholars Policy Prize for my research on ransomware. My research has been covered in the media by WIRED, The Washington Post, and Infosecurity Magazine, and has inspired a data collection collaboration with The Guardian.
Before beginning my doctorate, I earned a B.A. in International Studies with honors at the University of Alabama. I have lived and studied Arabic in Amman, Jordan and Meknes, Morocco as a Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellow and a Critical Language Scholarship recipient. I also lived and studied in Mannheim, Germany, in addition to interning at the U.S. consulate in Frankfurt, Germany.
Areas of Interest
- Cybersecurity
- Anti-money laundering laws
- Cybercrime
- Cyberwar
- International Political Economy
- Causal Inference
Academic Degrees
- Ph.D., Political Science, University of Pennsylvania (2021)
- M.A., Political Science, University of Pennsylvania (2018)
- B.A., International Studies, University of Alabama (2013)
Publications
- Nershi, K. (2023). “The Slow and Steady Regulation of Cryptocurrency.” Inkstick Media. DOI.
- Grossman, S., DiResta, R., Ramali, K., Sharma, R., Bradshaw, S., and Nershi, K. (2021). “In Bed with Embeds: How a Network Tied to IRA Operations Created Fake ‘Man on the Street’ Content Embedded in News Articles.” Stanford Digital Repository. DOI.