Dorothy E. Denning
Encyclopedia
Dorothy Elizabeth Denning (the daughter of C. Lowell and Helen Watson Robling on August 12, 1945) is an American information security
researcher and a graduate of the University of Michigan
. She has published four books and 140 articles. At Georgetown University
, she was the Patricia and Patrick Callahan Family Professor of computer science
and director of the Georgetown Institute of Information Assurance. She is now a professor in the Department of Defense Analysis at the Naval Postgraduate School
.
Denning has received several awards. Among them are the Augusta Ada Lovelace Award, National Computer Systems Security Award, and the 2004 Harold F. Tipton Award "in recognition of her outstanding information security career". In 1995 she was inducted as a Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery
.
Denning also privately reviewed, at federal request, the Skipjack
block cipher. In Congressional testimony, she pointed out that general publication of the algorithm would enable someone to build a hardware or software product that used SKIPJACK without escrowing keys.
Denning also served as a witness in the 1990 trial of United States v. Riggs
. Her testimony was instrumental in leading the government to drop charges against defendant Craig Neidorf
.
. He is currently the Chairman of the Computer Science Department at the Naval Postgraduate School
.
Information security
Information security means protecting information and information systems from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, perusal, inspection, recording or destruction....
researcher and a graduate of the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
. She has published four books and 140 articles. At Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
, she was the Patricia and Patrick Callahan Family Professor of computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
and director of the Georgetown Institute of Information Assurance. She is now a professor in the Department of Defense Analysis at the Naval Postgraduate School
Naval Postgraduate School
The Naval Postgraduate School is an accredited research university operated by the United States Navy. Located in Monterey, California, it grants master's degrees, Engineer's degrees and doctoral degrees...
.
Denning has received several awards. Among them are the Augusta Ada Lovelace Award, National Computer Systems Security Award, and the 2004 Harold F. Tipton Award "in recognition of her outstanding information security career". In 1995 she was inducted as a Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery
Association for Computing Machinery
The Association for Computing Machinery is a learned society for computing. It was founded in 1947 as the world's first scientific and educational computing society. Its membership is more than 92,000 as of 2009...
.
Denning also privately reviewed, at federal request, the Skipjack
Skipjack (cipher)
In cryptography, Skipjack is a block cipher—an algorithm for encryption—developed by the U.S. National Security Agency . Initially classified, it was originally intended for use in the controversial Clipper chip...
block cipher. In Congressional testimony, she pointed out that general publication of the algorithm would enable someone to build a hardware or software product that used SKIPJACK without escrowing keys.
Denning also served as a witness in the 1990 trial of United States v. Riggs
United States v. Riggs
In United States v. Riggs, the government of the United States prosecuted Robert Riggs and Craig Neidorf for obtaining unauthorized access to and subsequently disseminating a file held on BellSouth's computers. The file, referred to as the E911 file, gave information regarding BellSouth's products...
. Her testimony was instrumental in leading the government to drop charges against defendant Craig Neidorf
Craig Neidorf
Craig Neidorf , aka Knight Lightning, was one of the two founding editors of Phrack Magazine, an online, text-based ezine that defined the hacker mentality of the mid 1980s....
.
Family
In 1974 she married Peter J. DenningPeter J. Denning
Peter J. Denning is an American computer scientist, and prolific writer. He is best known for pioneering work in virtual memory, especially for inventing the working-set model for program behavior, which defeated thrashing in operating systems and became the reference standard for all memory...
. He is currently the Chairman of the Computer Science Department at the Naval Postgraduate School
Naval Postgraduate School
The Naval Postgraduate School is an accredited research university operated by the United States Navy. Located in Monterey, California, it grants master's degrees, Engineer's degrees and doctoral degrees...
.
External links
- Dorothy Denning's Home Page at Naval Postgraduate School
- The Future of Cryptography, a 1996 essay in which Denning gave her view of the future
- Afterward to The Future of Cryptograhy, a 1999 essay in which Denning updated her view
- Dorothy Denning's Home Page at Georgetown University, not updated since 2002
- Silver Bullet Security Podcast interview of Denning by Gary McGraw
- Gifts of Speech Testimony Concerning Computer Encryption by Dorothy Denning
- Ruritania, a classic Internet satire of Denning's opposition to citizen cryptography
- Declaration on Encryption Policy, a 1997 declaration in which Denning said that she did not recommend domestic restrictions on the use encryption within the United States, so long as all crypto keys are legally required to be accessible to the government by court order.