Touhill is director of the world-renowned CERT division of the Carnegie Mellon University Software Engineering Institute, where he leads researchers, software engineers, security analysts and digital intelligence specialists working together to research security vulnerabilities in software products and contribute to long-term changes in networked systems design.

Touhill was appointed by former President Barack Obama to be the first CISO of the U.S. government. Previously, he served in the Department of Homeland Security as deputy assistant secretary in the Office of Cybersecurity and Communications. He is a 30-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force and retired with the rank of brigadier general.