I am an Assistant Professor of Cyber Crisis Governance at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs (Leiden University) and a research fellow at the Hague Program on International Cyber Security. At Leiden University, I teach courses on cyber crisis management and resilience, and incident response. Currently, I work on several projects related to cyber incident preparedness and response in organizations, as well as security by design. I am also co-leading a four-year research project on cybersecurity in humanitarian organizations, alongside Dr. Andrea Bartolucci. My previous research explored the cybersecurity governance landscape in Spain. I have also participated in projects related to (cyber)security in the smart city, and public perceptions of intelligence agencies.

• Del‐Real, C., & Díaz‐Fernández, A. M. (2025). Who Will Govern Cybersecurity in Spain by 2035? Results From a Delphi Study. Futures & Foresight Science, 7(1), e208.
• Del-Real, C., De Busser, E., & van den Berg, B. (2025). A systematic literature review of security and privacy by design principles, norms, and strategies for digital technologies. International Review of Law, Computers & Technology, 1-32.
• Gallardo‐Amores, F. J., Del‐Real, C., & Díaz‐Fernández, A. M. (2025). Assessing urban security and safety smartness: A systematic review of key performance indicators. IET Smart Cities, 7(1), e70000.
• Steen, T. V., Real, C. D., Berg, B., Schmorrow, D. D., & Fidopiastis, C. M. (2024). What works well? A safety-iI approach to cybersecurity. Lecture Notes in Computer Science.
• Del-Real, C., De Busser, E., & van den Berg, B. (2024). Shielding software systems: A comparison of security by design and privacy by design based on a systematic literature review. Computer Law & Security Review, 52, 105933.
• Del-Real, C., & van Steen, T. (2023). Researching Cybersecurity Governance: Insights from Fieldwork with Cybersecurity Experts and End-Users. In Fieldwork Experiences in Criminology and Security Studies: Methods, Ethics, and Emotions (pp. 485-509). Cham: Springer International Publishing.