Software Engineering Institute

Pittsburgh, Pa., June 13, 2017—Carnegie Mellon University’s Software Engineering Institute today announced the appointment of Roberta G. (Bobbie) Stempfley as director of the SEI’s CERT Division.

A federally funded research and development center, the SEI helps government and industry organizations develop and operate software systems that are secure and reliable. The CERT Coordination Center was founded at the SEI in 1988 as the world’s first computer security incident response team.

Stempfley previously served as director of cyber strategy implementation at MITRE Corp. and as acting assistant secretary and deputy assistant secretary, Office of Cyber Security and Communications, Department of Homeland Security.

“Bobbie Stempfley brings a tremendous depth and breadth of experience in cybersecurity across both the Department of Defense and civil agencies,” said CMU Provost Farnam Jahanian. “We are so pleased to have someone with her expertise to lead the CERT division of the SEI and to coordinate with researchers across the university as they work to enhance the security and overall trustworthiness of our nation’s information infrastructure.”

In addition to her work at DHS, Stempfley previously worked in the DoD as CIO of the Defense Information Systems Agency and as chief of the DoD Computer Emergency Response Team, which she established.

“There has never been a greater need to address the persistent and growing cybersecurity risks that threaten the nation’s defense, homeland security, and intelligence communities,” said Dr. Paul Nielsen, SEI director and CEO. “Bobbie’s experience in the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security make her ideally suited to take up the leadership of our cybersecurity division in dealing with the complex risks that threaten the nation’s critical infrastructures.”

Stempfley received her bachelor’s degree in engineering mathematics from the University of Arizona and her master’s degree in computer science from James Madison University. A recipient of many awards, she was recognized by CyberScoop as among the Top Women in Cybersecurity, by Federal Computer Week in the Fed 100, and by Information Week as one of the Top 50 Government CIOs.

“From my positions in government, I have come to know and respect the work done by the talented cybersecurity professionals at the SEI’s CERT Division,” said Stempfley. “It is now my honor to lead this division, which, for nearly 30 years, has been at the forefront of our nation’s cyber defense. I look forward to working with this team to seek solutions to the nation’s critical needs by anticipating and responding to cyber threats and helping to assure the security of critical programs.”

For more information about the SEI CERT Division, see www.cert.org.

About the Carnegie Mellon University Software Engineering Institute
The Software Engineering Institute (SEI) is a federally funded research and development center sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense and operated by Carnegie Mellon University. The SEI works with organizations to make measurable improvements in their software engineering capabilities by providing technical leadership to advance the practice of software engineering. For more information, visit the SEI website at http://www.sei.cmu.edu. The CERT Division of the SEI is the world’s leading trusted authority dedicated to improving the security and resilience of computer systems and networks and a national asset in the field of cybersecurity. For more information, visit http://www.cert.org.