Bob Turner

As of September 2024, Bob Turner was the chief information security officer of Penn State University, a role he took up effective September 23, 2024, following a nationwide search. As CISO, he provides leadership, guidance and expertise across Penn State's units, colleges and campuses to protect data and information systems, and continues work to keep research and data safe and compliant with regulatory security frameworks.

Career path

Turner served 23 years in the U.S. Navy, beginning as an enlisted radioman before becoming a commissioned Communications and Information Systems officer. He later worked as a senior manager of cybersecurity teams at Booz Allen Hamilton, supporting military, energy, education and health care clients, after earlier serving as a cybersecurity consultant and compliance manager for a private firm.

In December 2014 he was named chief information security officer at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with his start date set for January 7, 2015. At UW-Madison he led the information security and privacy program with a team of 40 professional staff and 20 student workers, covering risk management and compliance, security operations, security tools support, cyber intelligence analysis, security awareness and IT policy. He facilitated a campus-wide cybersecurity strategy and program that secured 34 campus divisions. In October 2015 he took part in a Wisconsin legislative committee's informational hearing on the state of cybersecurity, listed as CISO of UW-Madison.

Turner also held private-sector roles including field CISO for education at Fortinet, where he supported engineering and marketing teams along with K-12 and higher education customers while advising senior cybersecurity and business executives. He has also served as CISO in residence and chief operating officer at Cyber Hero Virtual CISO Network LLC.

Education, talks and remit

Turner holds a bachelor's degree in administration and management from Excelsior College and a master's degree in information assurance from Capella University, and has held the Certified Information Systems Security Professional certification for 19 years. He has spoken at the UW-Madison IT Professionals Conference, including a 2021 session titled IT Talks Technical: What & Why Now? On taking the Penn State role, Turner said, "It's important to me to create a culture where cybersecurity is not something so complex that people are afraid of it."