Whitfield Diffie
 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (July 2010) |
Whitfield Diffie | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | June 5, 1944 |
| Nationality |  United States |
| Alma mater | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Known for | Diffie–Hellman key exchange |
| Awards | Kanellakis Award (1976) Hamming Medal (2010) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Cryptography |
Bailey Whitfield 'Whit' Diffie (born June 5, 1944) is a US cryptographer and one of the pioneers of public-key cryptography.
He received a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1965.
Diffie and Martin Hellman's paper New Directions in Cryptography was published in 1976. It introduced a radically new method of distributing cryptographic keys, that went far toward solving one of the fundamental problems of cryptography, key distribution. It has become known as Diffie–Hellman key exchange. The article also seems to have stimulated the almost immediate public development of a new class of encryption algorithms, the asymmetric key algorithms.[1]
Diffie was Manager of Secure Systems Research for Northern Telecom, where he designed the key management architecture for the PDSO security system for X.25 networks. [2]
In 1991 he joined Sun Microsystems Laboratories (in Menlo Park, California) as a Distinguished Engineer, working primarily on public policy aspects of cryptography. Diffie remained with Sun, serving as its Chief Security Officer and as a Vice President until November 2009. He is also a Sun Fellow.[3]
In 1992 he was awarded a Doctorate in Technical Sciences (Honoris Causa) by the ETH Zurich. He is also a fellow of the Marconi Foundation and visiting fellow of the Isaac Newton Institute. He has received various awards from other organisations. In July 2008, he was also awarded a Degree of Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) by Royal Holloway, University of London.[4] He was also awarded the Louis E. Levy Medal in 1997 and the IEEE Richard W. Hamming Medal in 2010.
Diffie and Susan Landau's book Privacy on the Line was published in 1998 on the politics of wiretapping and encryption. An updated and expanded edition appeared in 2007.
As of 2008[update], Diffie was a visiting professor at the Information Security Group based at Royal Holloway, University of London.[5]
In May 2010, Diffie joined the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) as Vice President for Information Security and Cryptography.[6]
References
- ^ Levy, 2001, p. 90ff
- ^ http://labs.oracle.com/people/mybio.php?uid=18607
- ^ "Dr. Whitfield Diffie". Sun Microsystems employee pages. Sun Microsystems. Retrieved August 19, 2010.
- ^ "Honorary Degree awarded to Prof Whitfield Diffie, Visiting Professor to the ISG". Information Security Group website. Royal Holloway University. Retrieved August 19, 2010.
- ^ Alumni Reunion Conference, Information Security Group, Royal Holloway, University of London, 2008, accessed 2010-07-20.
- ^ "Cryptography Legend Whit Diffie Joins the ICANN Team" (PDF). ICANN News Release. ICANN. May 14, 2010. Retrieved August 19, 2010.
- Steven Levy, Crypto: How the Code Rebels Beat the Government — Saving Privacy in the Digital Age, ISBN 0-14-024432-8, 2001.
External links
- Oral history interview with Martin Hellman Oral history interview 2004, Palo Alto, California. Charles Babbage Institute, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. Hellman describes his invention of public key cryptography with collaborators Whitfield Diffie and Ralph Merkle at Stanford University in the mid-1970s. He also relates his subsequent work in cryptography with Steve Pohlig (the Pohlig–Hellman algorithm) and others. Hellman addresses the National Security Agency’s (NSA) early efforts to contain and discourage academic work in the field, the Department of Commerce’s encryption export restrictions, and key escrow (the so-called Clipper chip). He also touches on the commercialization of cryptography with RSA Data Security and VeriSign.
- Cranky Geeks Episode 133
- Wired Magazine biography of Whitfield Diffie
- Interview with Whitfield Diffie on Chaosradio Express International
- Cranky Geeks Episode 71
- Risking Communications Security: Potential Hazards of the Protect America Act
- Diffie at the 2009 RSA conference, video with Diffie participating on the Cryptographer's Panel, April 21, 2009, Moscone Center, San Francisco