DHS’ Head of Cyber Division Outlines Goals
Roberta Stempfley
Earlier this year, Roberta Stempfley was named director of the National Cybersecurity Division at the Department of Homeland Security. She is responsible for, among other duties, U.S.-CERT which was recently criticized by the Inspector General of DHS.
Recently, Stempfley sat down with GovInfoSecurity to discuss her plans for the future.
“I always tell people that I live on my cell phone because my kids live on their cell phone, they do text,” said Stempfley. “I can tell you where they are at any time because we are engaged. So, as I came in and I got onto Communicator, I saw there were a few people on it, I started texting. It was just a natural thing for me. It has been an interesting thing to see people adapt to this change as a part of this organization.”
The rapid communication cability, launched by DHS when Stempfley took over, is called Communicator. It allows peers and subordinates to interact with superiors.
“They already understood how to communicate and how to collaborate with people, but to add this other tool that allowed them to bring a bunch of people together in a way that wasn’t a conference call … was an instantaneous kind of thing; it really helped them see the power of this very small technology addition as they went forward,” Stempfley said. “So, that kind of adaptation and agility in our thinking really is the thing that motivates me in helping ensure that our government is able to do that in my little corner of the world here at NCSD and DHS.”
Stempfley hopes to provide sounder metrics and reference architectures to other agency heads, she said.
“It is about our defining solution sets that are possible for people to use, and it is about our helping folks implement those solutions that are in their environment so that they can be successful,” she said.
Another important mission for Stempfley is to build up the cyber professional workforce for DHS.
“We have a number of vacancies today that we are working to fill as we go forward,” she said.
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- DHS Fills Two Cyber Posts with Stempfley and Vickers
- FBI Names Gordon M. Snow Assistant Director of Cyber Division
- Senate Confirms Lt. Gen. Alexander to Head Cyber Command
