The CERT Division is a leader in cybersecurity. We partner with government, industry, law enforcement, and academia to improve the security and resilience of computer systems and networks. We study problems that have widespread cybersecurity implications and develop advanced methods and tools to counter large-scale, sophisticated cyber threats.
CERT experts are a diverse group of researchers, software engineers, security analysts, and digital intelligence specialists working together to research security vulnerabilities in software products, contribute to long-term changes in networked systems, and develop cutting-edge information and training to improve the practice of cybersecurity.
Our connection to the internationally knownCarnegie Mellon University creates multidisciplinary collaboration opportunities and amplifies our research abilities.
Develop measurable and repeatable practices to prepare CSIRTs and other operational security organizations.
Develop methods for engineering mission-essential capabilities that balance security and resiliency with mission performance.
Develop and maintain a well-equipped cyber workforce that is immediately able to support the cybersecurity needs of organizations.
Develop measurable practices and frameworks that enable organizations to measure and mitigate risks.
Detect and mitigate the impact of insider threats and reduce their occurrence in organizations.
Develop tools and methods to identify and mitigate code that causes unintended effects in software systems.
Analyze the cyber terrain as it evolves to characterize assets at risk, measure adversary activity, and prioritize responses to threat.
Assess platforms through the analysis of source code to assure they adhere to security best practices.
Assess software, devices, systems, and platforms of unknown design or origin to find vulnerabilities and strategies for defending against possible attacks.
Reduce exposure to known vulnerabilities in systems.
Pittsburgh, PA
Pittsburgh, PA
Pittsburgh, PA
The SEI hosted Cyber Lightning, a three-day joint training exercise involving Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve units from western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio.
In SEI crisis simulation exercises, participants use scenarios that present fictitious malicious actors and environmental factors based on real-world events.
The SEI teamed with the U.S. Postal Service to help it improve its cybersecurity and resilience and collaborated on a program to develop a strong cybersecurity workforce.
The CERT Division is the birthplace of cybersecurity. For over 35 years, the CERT Division of the SEI has partnered with government, industry, law enforcement, and academia to advance cybersecurity and improve the security and resilience of computer systems and networks.
Originally focused on incident response, we have expanded into cybersecurity areas such as network situational awareness, malicious code analysis, secure coding, resilience management, insider threats, digital investigations and intelligence, workforce development, DevOps, forensics, software assurance, vulnerability discovery and analysis, and risk management.
Richard Pethia was founding director of the SEI's CERT Division. Pethia, who served as director of CERT from 1988 to 2016, guided the organization through tremendous growth and change. Under Pethia's leadership, the unit expanded and evolved from the CERT Coordination Center—a small group focused on computer incident response—to a research organization of more than 200 professionals dedicated to solving problems with widespread cybersecurity implications.
