FC: Whit Diffie's new job as Sun Microsystems' chief security officer

From: Declan McCullagh (declanat_private)
Date: Sun Apr 21 2002 - 22:42:12 PDT

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    ---
    
    To: Declan McCullagh <declanat_private>
    From: Whitfield Diffie <whitfield.diffieat_private>
    Date: Wed, 17 Apr 2002 11:14:29 -0800
    Subject: New job
    
    				Wednesday  17 April 2002  at 11h01
    
    Declan,
    
         I though you might be ineterested that, as Susan Landau puts it,
    I am going operational.
    
    					Whit
    
    
    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE			
    
    FOR MORE INFORMATION:
    Brett Smith
    Sun Microsystems, Inc.
    (408) 276-6143
    brett.smithat_private
    
    Penelope Bruce
    Sun Microsystems, Inc.
    (650) 786-7220
    penelope.bruceat_private
    
    
    SUN MICROSYSTEMS APPOINTS WORLD-RENOWNED SECURITY EXPERT, WHITFIELD DIFFIE,
    AS CHIEF SECURITY OFFICER; CREATES GLOBAL SECURITY PROGRAM OFFICE
    
    Sun Veteran and Inventor of Public Key Encryption to Lead Global Security
    Initiative to Evangelize Sun's Extensive Security Offerings and Key Issues
    Concerning Technology Security
    
    Santa Clara, CA -- April 17, 2002 -- Sun Microsystems today announced two
    significant and newly-created positions - Chief Security Officer and
    Director of the newly created Sun Global Security Program Office.  The
    positions are intended to further Sun's leadership in world-class, secure
    information technology products and coordinate the expansion of
    security-related product and services innovations.
    
    Sun's security expert Whitfield Diffie is appointed Chief Security Officer
    and Joanne Masters is appointed Director of Sun's Global Security Program
    Office.  Both appointments are effective immediately.
    
    "Sun has always understood that security is indispensable to enterprise
    computing in a network environment and has always provided products and
    services that reflect this understanding," comments Ed Zander, president
    and COO of Sun Microsystems.  "As our world becomes more and more
    connected, we see our customers looking for security that is effective,
    cost-effective and easy to use.  Whitfield is recognized as one of the
    world's foremost experts in this field and eminently qualified to lead this
    important initiative."
    
    The key objectives of the Chief Security Officer and the Global Security
    Program Office are:
    * To be an advocate for Sun's industry-leading security offerings with
    customers and partners, and educate them on key technology security issues.
    * To expand Sun's relationship with key security organizations, nationally
    and internationally, in an effort to address the Internet's fragmented
    security environment.
    * To anticipate and address future customer security requirements by a
    coordinated process across all of Sun Microsystems' research, product
    development assessment, marketing and sales.
    
    "I always thought of Whit as Sun's Chief Security Officer," said Vint Cerf,
    WorldCom's Senior VP of Internet Architecture and Technology.  "This is
    well-deserved recognition of his stature in the security community, and a
    clear indication of Sun's commitment to securing information technology
    around which much of today's business, government and personal worlds now
    revolve.  One of the industry's challenges is to find ways to make security
    less inconvenient without losing its effectiveness.  If it can be done at
    all, Whit's the right man to do it."
    
    "I have known Whitfield Diffie, his superior technical achievements and his
    advocacy for strong security in telecommunications, since my days as
    Director of the National Security Agency when we testified together before
    the U.S. Senate," comments Mike McConnell, a Vice President at Booz Allen
    Hamilton leading the firm's Infrastructure Assurance, Information
    Operations, and Military Intelligence practices, and former Director of the
    National Security Agency.  Mike also served as the intelligence officer for
    Gen. Powell during operation Desert Storm.  "Even more than our first
    encounter, I learned that cyber security is a critical issue of national
    importance.  Not only is it important to national and economic security, it
    also impacts the very safety and privacy of our citizens and all those who
    use global telecommunications systems.  In Whitfield Diffie, Sun
    Microsystems has chosen a leading national advocate and technical expert
    with broad-based business and policy expertise in the security field.  This
    is an excellent choice to lead the industry's discussions around the
    critical areas of security."
    
    Whitfield Diffie, world-renowned authority on cryptography and security
    technology, joined Sun in 1991 after twelve years as manager of secure
    systems research at Northern Telecom. Diffie, working in Sun Labs, was one
    of the driving forces in the policy struggle that has led to legal
    recognition for the importance of advanced security technologies for modern
    society.
    
    Diffie is also famous as the inventor of the Public Key Encryption concept
    that underlies secure electronic commerce and is recognized in security and
    intelligence circles worldwide as an authority on information technology
    security issues.
    
    The Sun Microsystems Global Security Program Office will be led by Sun
    Microsystems Director Joanne Masters, working in partnership with Diffie.
    In addition to the objectives above, her charter will also be to drive
    cross-Sun Microsystems initiatives related to raising Sun's presence on
    Security issues.
    
    About Sun Microsystems, Inc.
    Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision - "The Network Is The
    Computer[tm]" - has propelled Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Nasdaq: SUNW) to its
    position as a leading provider of industrial-strength hardware, software
    and services that power the Internet and allow companies worldwide to make
    the net work.  Sun can be found in more than 170 countries and on the World
    Wide Web at http://sun.com.
    
    # # #
    
    Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun logo and The Network Is The Computer are
    trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United
    States and other countries.
    
    
    
    
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