Frank A. Stevenson
Encyclopedia
Frank A. Stevenson is a Norwegian
software developer
, and part time cryptanalyst. He is primarily known for his exposition of weaknesses in the DVD Forum
's Content Scramble System
(CSS). Although the cryptoanalysis was done independently, he is known for his relations to DeCSS
, and appeared before the courts as a witness in the Jon Johansen court trial. He also gave a deposition
for the DVD CCA v. McLaughlin, Bunner, et al. case.
Stevenson worked for Funcom
as a game developer
for many years, after which he moved to Kvaleberg to work on mobil phone software. In July 2010, Stevenson published information about vulnerabilities in the A5/1 encryption algorithm used by most 2G GSM networks, and also showed the Kraken software, that demonstrates that the crypto indeed can be broken with modest hardware.
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
software developer
Software developer
A software developer is a person concerned with facets of the software development process. Their work includes researching, designing, developing, and testing software. A software developer may take part in design, computer programming, or software project management...
, and part time cryptanalyst. He is primarily known for his exposition of weaknesses in the DVD Forum
DVD Forum
The DVD Forum is an international organization composed of hardware, software, media and content companies that use and develop the DVD and formerly HD DVD formats...
's Content Scramble System
Content Scramble System
Content Scramble System is a Digital Rights Management and encryption system employed on almost all commercially produced DVD-Video discs. CSS utilizes a proprietary 40-bit stream cipher algorithm...
(CSS). Although the cryptoanalysis was done independently, he is known for his relations to DeCSS
DeCSS
DeCSS is a computer program capable of decrypting content on a commercially produced DVD video disc. Before the release of DeCSS, there was no way for computers running a Linux-based operating system to play video DVDs....
, and appeared before the courts as a witness in the Jon Johansen court trial. He also gave a deposition
Deposition (law)
In the law of the United States, a deposition is the out-of-court oral testimony of a witness that is reduced to writing for later use in court or for discovery purposes. It is commonly used in litigation in the United States and Canada and is almost always conducted outside of court by the...
for the DVD CCA v. McLaughlin, Bunner, et al. case.
Stevenson worked for Funcom
Funcom
Funcom Productions A/S is a Norwegian video game developer specializing in online games. It is best known for the massively multiplayer online role-playing game titles Age of Conan, Anarchy Online, and its The Longest Journey series of adventure games...
as a game developer
Video game developer
A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...
for many years, after which he moved to Kvaleberg to work on mobil phone software. In July 2010, Stevenson published information about vulnerabilities in the A5/1 encryption algorithm used by most 2G GSM networks, and also showed the Kraken software, that demonstrates that the crypto indeed can be broken with modest hardware.
Games credited
Stevenson has been credited with the following video games:- Anarchy OnlineAnarchy OnlineAnarchy Online is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game published and developed by Funcom. Released in the summer of 2001, the game was first in the genre to include a science-fiction setting, dynamic quests, free trials, and in-game advertising. The most ground breaking feature in...
: Alien Invasion (2004), Funcom Oslo A/SFuncomFuncom Productions A/S is a Norwegian video game developer specializing in online games. It is best known for the massively multiplayer online role-playing game titles Age of Conan, Anarchy Online, and its The Longest Journey series of adventure games... - Anarchy OnlineAnarchy OnlineAnarchy Online is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game published and developed by Funcom. Released in the summer of 2001, the game was first in the genre to include a science-fiction setting, dynamic quests, free trials, and in-game advertising. The most ground breaking feature in...
(2001), Funcom Oslo A/SFuncomFuncom Productions A/S is a Norwegian video game developer specializing in online games. It is best known for the massively multiplayer online role-playing game titles Age of Conan, Anarchy Online, and its The Longest Journey series of adventure games... - Anarchy OnlineAnarchy OnlineAnarchy Online is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game published and developed by Funcom. Released in the summer of 2001, the game was first in the genre to include a science-fiction setting, dynamic quests, free trials, and in-game advertising. The most ground breaking feature in...
: The Notum Wars (2001), KOCH Media Deutschland GmbH - The Longest JourneyThe Longest JourneyThe Longest Journey is a point-and-click adventure game developed by Norwegian studio Funcom for the PC. First published by IQ Media Nordic in Norway in 1999, it was later localized for and released in France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Canada, Spain, Denmark,...
(1999), IQ Media Nordic - DragonHeart: Fire & SteelDragonheart: Fire & SteelDragonHeart: Fire and Steel is a 2D side-scrolling action game loosely based on the 1996 fantasy/adventure film, Dragonheart.-Story:DragonHeart: Fire and Steel follows the story of medieval dragonslayer Sir Bowen, in his attempt to rid the world of a particularly evil king along with seven evil...
(1996), Acclaim Entertainment, Inc.Acclaim EntertainmentAcclaim Entertainment was an American video game developer and publisher. It developed, published, marketed and distributed interactive entertainment software for a variety of hardware platforms, including Sega's Mega Drive/Genesis, Saturn, Dreamcast, and Game Gear, Nintendo's NES, SNES, Nintendo... - Winter GoldWinter GoldWinter Gold is a winter sports video game with events like bobsled, ski jump or snowboarding, all in a 3D graphics environment. Both single player and multi-player options are available; up to eight players can compete in the "competition mode". The game used the Super FX 2 chip...
(1996), Nintendo Co., LtdNintendois a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
.