Interviews on Information Security

An Interview with Whit Diffie by Richard Thieme The Complete Transcript RT: I want to emphasize the deeper context. The world looks differently than it did 30 years ago. So much is located around you in the seventies when public key cryptography was brought forward. The fact that you are now CSO for SUN indicates [...]

Howard Schmidt Goes to War An Interview with Howard Schmidt May 2002 Howard Schmidt The new vice chairman of the Critical Infrastructure Protection Board aims to keep cybersecurity a top priority in the post-9/11 world. BY Richard Thieme Q:You were recently named vice chairman of the Critical Infrastructure Protection Board, but you’ve said that Richard [...]

March 2002 Roundtable Automating Cyber Defenses Four of infosec’s cutting-edge thinkers examine how intelligent systems might be made to analyze, understand and automatically respond to attacks. MATT BISHOP (bishop@cs.ucdavis.edu ) is an associate professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of California, Davis. He serves on the executive committee of the National [...]

Bob Weaver and the Electronic Crimes Task Force November 2001 BOB WEAVER From the rubble of the twin towers, the Electronic Crimes Task Force chief rededicates himself to “serving the servers.” BY RICHARD THIEME The events U.S. Secret Service agent Bob Weaver witnessed from his office in the World Trade Center on Sept. 11 rekindled [...]

Interview with Lou Leffler, Program Director, NAERC (North American Electric Reliability Council) Interviewed by Richard Thieme This is the transcript of the original interview which was not included by Information Security Magazine as a sidebar to the interview with Ron Dick. I think Leffler’s insights are worth noting so the transcript is presented here. Whatever [...]

Interview with Stanley “Stash” Jarocki, Board Member of the Financial Services ISAC Interviewed by Richard Thieme This is the transcript of the original interview which was significantly edited and reduced by Information Security Magazine as a sidebar to the interview with Ron Dick. I think Jarocki’s insights are worth preserving so the entire transcript is [...]

A Mentor’s Mantra May 2001 Q&A WITH STEPHEN NORTHCUTT Former Navy man Stephen Northcutt has new marching orders: Train the defenders to think like their attackers. INTERVIEWED BY RICHARD THIEME Q:How did you get to SANS? A:I’ve worked for the Department of Defense for most of my adult life. I was in the uniformed Navy [...]

We’re the Freedom People March 2001 An Interview with  WITH JENNIFER GRANICK Attorney Jennifer Granick has made a career out of defending the “little guys”–a mission that takes on added dimension in her new post at Stanford Law School’s Center for Internet and Society. INTERVIEWED BY RICHARD THIEME BioLines >05.93 Graduated from Hastings Law School, [...]

BATTLE ZONE: AN INTERVIEW WITH BRUCE SCHNEIER Bruce Schneier wrote The Book on applied cryptography…literally. Now he’s throwing his hat into the managed security services… …Battle Zone INTERVIEWED BY RICHARD THIEME Q: Your new enterprise focuses broadly on computer security, not just cryptography. How do you define a ‘secure system?’ A: That’s the key question. [...]

UNCOMPROMISING POSITION: AN INTERVIEW WITH RICHARD M. SMITH Where online privacy is in jeopardy, code sniffer Richard  M. Smith has been there to uncover it. INTERVIEWED BY RICHARD THIEME Q: How did you come to work in computer security? A: I was CEO of PharLap Software until September 1999, and am still co-owner. For the [...]

RISKY BUSINESS: AN INTERVIEW WITH JOHN SEKEVITCH BY RICHARD THIEME As VP of Secure Computing’s Professional Services unit, John Sekevitch fends off security threats with one hand…and controversy with the other. Q: Assuring clients of information security is like proving a negative. How do you assure clients it has been achieved? A: We are seldom [...]