Professor Monica Whitty is the Head of Department of Software Systems and Cybersecurity and is Professor of Human Factors in Cyber Security. She has been a member of the World Economic Forum Cyber Security Centre and was a member of the WEF Cyber Security Global Futures Committee.

Prof Whitty's academic career began in Australia working at Macquarie University and the University of Western Sydney, before moving to the UK (2003) and then returning home to Australia (2018). In the UK she worked for universities in the Russell Group (Queen's University, Belfast; University of Warwick), and The 1994 Group Universities (University of Leicester). In Australia, she previously worked at the University of Melbourne before commencing her post at UNSW in 2020. She was the founder and the Director of the UNSW Institute for Cyber Security (IFCYBER). Professor Whitty has worked in a GCHQ accredited Cyber Security Centre in the UK at the University of Warwick and has held an honorary post at the University of Oxford at the Oxford Martin School and the Oxford Internet Institute, and an honorary Professorship at the Institute of Royal Holloway, University of London.

Monica has extensive experience in leading large interdisciplinary, international teams on funded projects. Professor Whitty has been awarded significant research funding (> $15 million AUD) and has led most of her projects. She has extensive experience in teaching at all levels and in the development of successful Masters courses.

Prof Whitty is the author of over 100 articles and 5 books. She is a leading expert on cyber fraud (esp. romance scams), identities created in cyberspace, online security risks, behaviour in cyberspace, insider threat, as well as detecting and preventing deception, such as cyberscams and mis/disinformation. Monica is also currently on a talkback radio program on ABC Cairns to provide help and feedback to prevent scam victimization.