SEI Director and CEO Paul Nielsen Receives 2024 Cyber Security Hall of Fame Honor
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October 29, 2024—The Cyber Security Hall of Fame announced last week that Paul Nielsen, director and chief executive officer of the Software Engineering Institute (SEI), will be included in its 2024 group of honorees. Nielsen and the other 2024 honorees will be formally inducted into the Cyber Security Hall of Fame at a December 5 gala and ceremony in Maryland.
Since 2012, the Cyber Security Hall of Fame has celebrated the excellence of global cybersecurity leaders. This year, the organization will induct seven such individuals in recognition of their accomplishments in technology, business, education, government, and innovation. “These trailblazers, through their groundbreaking achievements, have left a lasting impact on the industry and have been instrumental in foundational technology in protecting our systems or advancing organizations and innovation,” the Hall of Fame wrote in its announcement of the 2024 honorees.
The Hall of Fame included Nielsen in its cyber technology and business category.
“I thank the Hall of Fame for counting me among this amazing group of cybersecurity leaders,” said Nielsen. “I credit this honor to the Software Engineering Institute’s incredible team of researchers. Across four decades, they laid the foundations for the security of networked systems and continue to innovate this crucial and always changing field. In addition, during my first career in the Air Force, I was fortunate to work with cybersecurity teams at the Air Force Research Laboratory, especially the Information Directorate in Rome, New York, and at the National Security Agency.”
Nielsen has led the SEI since 2004. He previously served in the U.S. Air Force for 32 years, retiring as a major general and commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory. Nielsen is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and a fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE).
