Information about Bruce Schneier

Bruce Schneier

Born	15 January 1963 (1963--) (age 44)
Residence	U.S.
Citizenship	American
Field	Computer science
Institutions	BT Counterpane Bell Labs United States Department of Defense
Alma mater	American University University of Rochester
Known for	Cryptography, security

Bruce Schneier (born 15 January 1963) 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.

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.

Writings on cryptography

Schneier's Applied Cryptography is a popular and widely regarded 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. He is the author or coauthor of hundreds of academic cryptography papers.

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.

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] 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.

Other writing

Schneier and his wife, Karen Cooper, write restaurant reviews for a number of Minneapolis papers, including the Star Tribune.^[2]

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]

In popular culture

Schneier's name appears in the novel The Da Vinci Code:

Schneier is featured on the Everybody Loves Eric Raymond website in a parody of Chuck Norris Facts called Bruce Schneier Facts, featuring such "facts" as "Most people use passwords. Some people use passphrases. Bruce Schneier uses an epic passpoem, detailing the life and works of seven mythical Norse heroes." Schneier has noted his approval.^[4]

Publications

• Schneier, Bruce. Applied Cryptography, John Wiley & Sons, 1994. ISBN 0-471-59756-2
• Schneier, Bruce. Protect Your Macintosh, Peachpit Press, 1994. ISBN 1-56609-101-2
• Schneier, Bruce. E-Mail Security, John Wiley & Sons, 1995. ISBN 0-471-05318-X
• Schneier, Bruce. Applied Cryptography, Second Edition, John Wiley & Sons, 1996. ISBN 0-471-11709-9
• Schneier, Bruce; Kelsey, John; Whiting, Doug; Wagner, David; Hall, Chris; Ferguson, Niels. The Twofish Encryption Algorithm, John Wiley & Sons, 1996. ISBN 0-471-35381-7
• Schneier, Bruce; Banisar, David. The Electronic Privacy Papers, John Wiley & Sons, 1997. ISBN 0-471-12297-1
• Schneier, Bruce. Secrets and Lies: Digital Security in a Networked World, John Wiley & Sons, 2000. ISBN 0-471-25311-1
• Schneier, Bruce. Beyond Fear: Thinking Sensibly about Security in an Uncertain World, Copernicus Books, 2003. ISBN 0-387-02620-7
• Ferguson, Niels; Schneier, Bruce. Practical Cryptography, John Wiley & Sons, 2003. ISBN 0-471-22357-3

See also

• Attack tree
• Failing badly
• Schneier's Law

References

External links

• Personal website, Schneier.com – includes Crypto-Gram newsletter and Schneier on Security blog
• Bruce Schneier at BT Counterpane
• Bruce Schneier at Voting Machines ProCon.org
• Funny, ironic Bruce Schneier statements

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