Dan Geer
| Daniel Earl Geer, Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Citizenship | USA |
| Fields | Computer Scientist |
| Institutions | MIT CertCo SystemExperts In-Q-Tel |
| Alma mater | Harvard University (SC.D. Biostatistics) MIT (SB EECS) |
| Known for | Project Athena Open Market CertCo |
Dan Geer is a computer security analyst and risk management specialist. He is recognized for raising awareness of critical computer and network security issues before the risks were widely understood, and for ground-breaking work on the economics of security.
Geer is currently the chief information security officer for In-Q-Tel, a not-for-profit venture capital firm that invests in technology to support the Central Intelligence Agency.[1]
In 2003, Geer's 24-page report entitled "CyberInsecurity: The Cost of Monopoly" was released by the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA). The paper argued that Microsoft's dominance of desktop computer operating systems is a threat to national security. Geer was fired (from consultancy @Stake) the day the report was made public.[2] Geer has cited subsequent changes in the Vista operating system (notably a location-randomization feature) as evidence that Microsoft "accepted the paper."[3]
Geer received a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT, where he was a member of the Theta Deuteron charge of Theta Delta Chi fraternity. He also received a Sc.D. in biostatistics from Harvard, and has worked for:[4]
- Health Sciences Computing Facility, Harvard School of Public Health
- Project Athena, MIT
- Digital Equipment Corporation
- Geer Zolot & Associates
- OpenVision Technologies
- Open Market
- Certco
- @stake (acquired by Symantec in November 2004)
- Verdasys
In 2011, Geer received the USENIX Lifetime Achievement Award.[5]
Attributions
- Geer's Law: Any security technology whose effectiveness can't be empirically determined is indistinguishable from blind luck.
References
- ↑ Dan Geer leaves Verdasys for In-Q-Tel, by Ryan Naraine, ZDNet, May 28, 2008. Accessed 2008-07-09.
- ↑ "Critique of Microsoft eyed in firing: Ex-tech officer claims report cost his job", by Jay Fitzgerald, Boston Herald, September 27, 2003. Reprint. Accessed 2008-07-09.
- ↑ Dan Geer Helping CIA, CSOonline.com, August 4, 2008.
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External links
- Dan Geer's home publications page
- All Geered Up: An Interview With Dan Geer By Richard Thieme
- Letter to Massachusetts Senator Marc Pacheco on OpenDocument Standards by Dan Geer
- Oh Dan Geer, where art thou? by Ellen Messmer
- Security of Information When Economics Matters by Dan Geer (PDF format)
- The Shrinking Perimeter: Making the Case for Data-Level Risk Management by Dan Geer (PDF format)
- Dan Geer's Convergence Time based security and the convergence of both digital and physical security (PDF format)
- Dan Geer's April 23, 2007 Testimony to Subcommittee on Emerging Threats, Cybersecurity, and Science and Technology (PDF Format)
- Geer's nomination to the FTC Advisory Committee
- Geer's keynote speech at Black Hat USA 2014: Cybersecurity as Realpolitik; video of Geer's keynote
