USV Faculty

Tem Ysmael is the IT Security Analyst at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, where he leads cybersecurity and privacy efforts, and serves as one of three co-leads of the Stanford Cyber Emergency Response Team (CERT).

He built his institution's first cybersecurity awareness program and develops OSINT reports and security trainings for scholars and senior staff. He presented "The New Impersonation Threat" at Stanford Converge, on how publicly available material is used to build convincing audio and video deepfakes targeting academic institutions.

As a CERT co-lead, he coordinates threat analysis across an 90+ member cross-departmental advisory group and translates emerging risks into practical guidance. In 2026 he co-organized CERT's first incident response exercise, a full-day simulated attack run in a live environment, where distributed and cross-department teams worked forensic investigation, attribution, and stakeholder communication under pressure.

At USV, Tem teaches IT104: IT Service Management and Personal Operational Security, and serves as curriculum architect for the Cybersecurity Diploma program, a four-term build focused on hands-on lab work from the first week. He also guest lectures at California State University, East Bay, judges the Atlantic Council's Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge, and delivers cybersecurity training to legal and mediation professionals through Artemis Technology Solutions, LLC, which he co-founded in 2023.

Tem's strength is translation: making sophisticated threats understandable and actionable for people who don't work in security. A recent guest lecture at CSU East Bay ran to twice its scheduled length because students kept asking questions.

He started at Stanford in a non-IT role (facilities and operations management) and moved into the information technology and cybersecurity field one certification and one hands-on skill at a time, which is the path he tries to shorten for his students.

Formal Education
Bachelor of Arts, Politics, University of California, Santa Cruz
Associate of Arts, Enterprise Security Professional, De Anza College (Magna Cum Laude)
Certificate of Achievement in Advanced Cybersecurity, Stanford University School of Engineering

Certifications
CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst (CySA+)
CompTIA Security+
CompTIA Network+
CompTIA A+
Practical OSINT Research Professional, TCM Security
Hacking and Defending Active Directory, TCM Security
Splunk Core Certified User
Jamf Certified Tech
Jamf Certified Associate
Professional Scrum Master I, Scrum.org

Industry Experience

IT Security Analyst, Hoover Institution, Stanford University
Co-Lead, Stanford Cyber Emergency Response Team (CERT)
Co-Founder, Artemis Technology Solutions, LLC
Guest Lecturer, California State University, East Bay
Judge, Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge, Atlantic Council