Bruce Schneier

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Bruce Schneier

Born January 15, 1963 (1963-01-15) (age 46)
Residence U.S.
Citizenship American
Fields Computer science
Institutions Counterpane Internet Security
Bell Labs
United States Department of Defense
BT Group
Alma mater American University
University of Rochester
Known for Cryptography, security

Bruce Schneier (born January 15, 1963, pronounced /ˈʃnаɪər/) is an American cryptographer, computer security specialist, and writer. He is the author of several books on computer security and cryptography, and is the founder and chief technology officer of BT Counterpane, formerly Counterpane Internet Security, Inc.

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[edit] Education

Originally from New York City, Schneier currently lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Schneier has a Master's degree in computer science from American University and a Bachelor of Science degree in physics from the University of Rochester. Before Counterpane, he worked at the United States Department of Defense and then AT&T Bell Labs. In August 1999, Schneier founded Counterpane Internet Security. Counterpane was acquired by BT in October 2006, and is now known as BT Managed Security Solutions. Schneier is currently the Chief Security Technology Officer of BT.

[edit] Writings on cryptography

Schneier's Applied Cryptography is a popular reference work for cryptography. Schneier has designed or co-designed several cryptographic algorithms, including the Blowfish, Twofish and MacGuffin block ciphers, the Helix and Phelix stream ciphers, and the Yarrow and Fortuna cryptographically secure pseudo-random number generators. Solitaire is a cryptographic algorithm developed by Schneier for use by people without access to a computer, called Pontifex in Neal Stephenson's novel Cryptonomicon. In October 2008, Schneier, together with seven others, introduced the Skein hash function family, which has been submitted to the NIST hash function competition.

However, Schneier now denounces his early success as a naive, mathematical, and ivory tower view of what is inherently a people problem. In Applied Cryptography, he implies that correctly implemented algorithms and technology promise safety and secrecy, and that following security protocol ensures security, regardless of the behavior of others. Schneier now argues that the incontrovertible mathematical guarantees miss the point. As he describes in Secrets and Lies, a business which uses RSA encryption to protect its data without considering how the cryptographic keys are handled by employees on "complex, unstable, buggy" computers has failed to properly protect the information. An actual security solution that includes technology must also take into account the vagaries of hardware, software, networks, people, economics, and business. Schneier is now referring people trying to implement actually secure systems to his new book with Niels Ferguson, Practical Cryptography.

[edit] Writings on computer security and general security

In 2000, Schneier published Secrets and Lies: Digital Security in a Networked World. In 2003, Schneier published Beyond Fear: Thinking Sensibly About Security in an Uncertain World.

Schneier writes a freely available monthly Internet newsletter on computer and other security issues, Crypto-Gram, as well as a security weblog, Schneier on Security. The weblog started out as a way to publish essays before they appeared in Crypto-Gram, making it possible for others to comment on them while the stories were still current, but over time the newsletter became a monthly email version of the blog, re-edited and re-organized.[1][citation needed] Schneier is frequently quoted in the press on computer and other security issues, pointing out flaws in security and cryptographic implementations ranging from biometrics to airline security after the September 11, 2001 attacks. He also writes "Security Matters", a regular column for Wired Magazine.[2]

[edit] Other writing

Schneier and his wife, Karen Cooper, write restaurant reviews for a number of Minneapolis papers, including the Star Tribune.[citation needed]

Schneier and Cooper were nominated in 2000 for the Hugo Award, in the category of Best Related Book, for their Minicon 34 Restaurant Guide, a work originally published for the Minneapolis science fiction convention Minicon which gained a readership internationally in science fiction fandom for its wit and good humor.[3]

individual-i

[edit] Individual-i

Schneier designed the "individual-i" symbol and released it into public domain to promote individual rights.[4]

[edit] Victim of Plagiarism

Schneier revealed on his blog that in the December 2004 issue of the SIGCSE Bulletin, three Pakistani academics, Khawaja Amer Hayat, Umar Waqar Anis, and S. Tauseef-ur-Rehman, from the International Islamic University in Islamabad, Pakistan, plagiarized an article written by Schneier and got it published.[1] The same academics subsequently plagiarized another article by Schneier on "Analysis of Real-time Transport Protocol Security as well[2]. Scheiner complained to the editors of the periodical, which generated a minor controversy[3]. The editor of the SIGCSE Bulletin removed the paper from their website and demanded official letters of admission and apology. Schneier noted on his blog that International Islamic University personnel had requested him "to close comments in this blog entry"; Schneier refused to close comments on the blog, but he did delete posts which he deemed "incoherent or hostile".[4]

[edit] Publications

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Blood, Rebecca (January 2007). "Bruce Schneier". Bloggers on Blogging. http://www.rebeccablood.net/bloggerson/bruceschneier.html. Retrieved on 2007-04-19. 
  2. ^ Schneier, Bruce. "Security Matters". Wired Magazine. http://www.wired.com/commentary/securitymatters. Retrieved on 2008-03-10. 
  3. ^ "Hugo Awards Nominations". Locus Magazine. 2000-04-21. http://www.locusmag.com/2000/News/News04d.html. 
  4. ^ BoingBoing entry from 2005 (documents Schneir's connection to Individual-i)

[edit] External links


Persondata
NAME Schneier, Bruce
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION American computer scientist
DATE OF BIRTH January 15, 1963
PLACE OF BIRTH
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH
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