About GSi

A public-facing platform for governance, security, and technology policy.

Governance and Security Initiative (GSi) is an independent think tank and training academy based in Dhaka. Its work sits at the intersection of governance, national security, cybersecurity, AI policy, and broader public-interest reform.

GSi combines research, dialogue, training, and issue-based civic engagement. It works as a platform that blends a think tank, a training academy, and a cybersecurity-oriented advisory practice.

Founder & Director

The expertise and vision driving GSi forward.

Founder & Director

Asheer Shah

Governance and Security Initiative (GSi)

Asheer Shah is the Founder and Director of the Governance and Security Initiative (GSi). His work focuses on cybersecurity governance, artificial intelligence policy, emerging technologies, climate security, and international affairs.

He completed a Master’s degree in Cybersecurity Governance at Leiden University in the Netherlands, where his work focused on cyber espionage, digital crime, behavioural cybersecurity, and AI governance. He previously studied Global Studies and Governance at Independent University, Bangladesh, with a minor in Economics.

His professional experience includes work with the Clingendael Institute in the Netherlands and the Bangladesh Institute of Peace and Security Studies (BIPSS), alongside research, writing, training delivery, and public commentary across policy platforms and media outlets.

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Education

Master’s in Cybersecurity Governance, Leiden University, Netherlands
Bachelor’s in Global Studies and Governance, Independent University, Bangladesh

Experience

Clingendael Institute, Netherlands
Bangladesh Institute of Peace and Security Studies (BIPSS)
Founder and Director, Governance and Security Initiative

Research Team

Researchers contributing to GSi's work.

GSi's research team brings together emerging scholars working across cybersecurity, digital rights, governance, and environmental policy.

Digital Security Researcher

Syeda Nafisa Anjum

Syeda Nafisa Anjum is a Digital Security Researcher at GSi, currently studying Economics at BRAC University. Her research focuses on digital violence against women, data protection legislation, environmental governance, and the intersection of technology policy with gender-based security.

Articles

Connected but Not Protected: Bangladesh Data Ordinance Act 2025, Legal Loopholes and the Costs to Women
Dhaka: A Killing Test Tube for Children — Hemayetpur Supplying the Poisonous Gas

Digital violence and gender-based cyber threatsData protection and privacy legislationEnvironmental governance and public health

Governance Researcher

Abul Kasem

Abul Kasem is a Governance Researcher at GSi focusing on institutional cybersecurity preparedness, behavioral policy interventions, and urban environmental governance. His work applies analytical frameworks to practical governance challenges in Bangladesh.

Articles

From Random Clicks to a Human Firewall: First-Order Defenses Against Phishing in Bangladesh
Choking the Bay and Flooding Dhaka’s Streets with Plastic: Can Peter Hall’s Policy Paradigms Rescue DNCC?

Cybersecurity governance and phishing defenseUrban environmental policyBehavioral policy frameworks

Cybersecurity Researcher

Nusrat Khan

Nusrat Khan is a Cybersecurity Researcher at GSi with a focus on cyber law, corporate data protection accountability, and comparative legal frameworks across South Asia and Europe.

Articles

Cyber Law and the Illusion of Protection: When Personal Data Is Leaked in Bangladesh, Who Is Accountable?

Cyber law and data protectionCorporate accountability in data governanceComparative legal analysis (GDPR vs Bangladesh)

Areas of work

Research and training domains.

Cybersecurity governance

Artificial intelligence governance and ethics

Behavioural cybersecurity

Cyber espionage and digital crime

Technology policy and global governance

Climate security

Indo-Pacific strategic affairs

Selected publications

Published research and writing.