Tom Cross
Encyclopedia
Tom Cross, also known as Decius, is an American
computer security
expert and hacker
.
, Canada
and grew up in Tennessee
. His father worked in telecommunications policy and his mother was a Registered Nurse's Assistant
. He attended Brentwood High School
in Brentwood, Tennessee
, before attending Georgia Tech
in Atlanta, receiving a Bachelor's Degree
in computer engineering
.
, as the Director of Global Security Engineering. In 2001, he founded Industrial Memetics, which developed the popular collaborative blogging community MemeStreams
.
Cross has been a speaker at several technology conferences, including PhreakNIC
; Summercon
; "The First International Hackers' Conference in Seoul Korea" (IS2K); "InternetWorld" in Singapore
; and APRICOT
, the Asia-Pacific Regional Internet Conference on Operational Technologies. He was also among the attendees at the first ever Def Con
. He is known for extensive "rant" essays and speeches on technology and policy. He has also been a co-host on episodes of "Binary Revolution", as a cryptography
expert.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
computer security
Computer security
Computer security is a branch of computer technology known as information security as applied to computers and networks. The objective of computer security includes protection of information and property from theft, corruption, or natural disaster, while allowing the information and property to...
expert and hacker
Hacker (computer security)
In computer security and everyday language, a hacker is someone who breaks into computers and computer networks. Hackers may be motivated by a multitude of reasons, including profit, protest, or because of the challenge...
.
Early life
Cross was born in 1976 in TorontoToronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and grew up in Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
. His father worked in telecommunications policy and his mother was a Registered Nurse's Assistant
Registered nurse
A registered nurse is a nurse who has graduated from a nursing program at a university or college and has passed a national licensing exam. A registered nurse helps individuals, families, and groups to achieve health and prevent disease...
. He attended Brentwood High School
Brentwood High School (Brentwood, Tennessee)
Brentwood High School is a public high school located in Brentwood, Tennessee, U.S.A. The school serves the north central section of Williamson County. It serves grades 9-12 and is known state-wide for its achievements in academics, the arts, and athletics...
in Brentwood, Tennessee
Brentwood, Tennessee
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 23,445 people, 7,693 households, and 6,808 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 7,889 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 94.63% European American, 1.89% African American,...
, before attending Georgia Tech
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
in Atlanta, receiving a Bachelor's Degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in computer engineering
Computer engineering
Computer engineering, also called computer systems engineering, is a discipline that integrates several fields of electrical engineering and computer science required to develop computer systems. Computer engineers usually have training in electronic engineering, software design, and...
.
Security work
He co-founded the EFGA (Electronic Frontiers Georgia) in 1995. In 1996, he co-founded Computer Sentry Software, known for their award-winning "CyberAngel" software, a laptop anti-theft program. From 1999-2000, he was Chief Engineer at Dataway, a computer security firm in San Francisco. From 2000-2001 he worked at iAsiaWorksIAsiaWorks
iAsiaWorks was an ISP and Internet data center that briefly sprung to life between 2000 and 2001 during the final days of the dot-com era.-Description:...
, as the Director of Global Security Engineering. In 2001, he founded Industrial Memetics, which developed the popular collaborative blogging community MemeStreams
MemeStreams
MemeStreams is an early social networking website, online community, and blog host that was established in 2001 by Industrial Memetics,.Created by Tom Cross and Nick Levay, the site is particularly popular among computer security professionals....
.
Cross has been a speaker at several technology conferences, including PhreakNIC
PhreakNIC
PhreakNIC is an annual hacker and technology convention held in Nashville, Tennessee. It is organized by the Nashville 2600 Organization and draws upon resources from SouthEastern 2600 . The Nashville Linux User Group was closely tied with PhreakNIC for the first 10 years, but is no longer an...
; Summercon
Summercon
Summercon is one of the oldest hacker conventions. It helped set a precedent for more modern "cons" such as H.O.P.E. and DEF CON, although it has remained smaller and more personal, and has been hosted in cities such as Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Austin, and Amsterdam....
; "The First International Hackers' Conference in Seoul Korea" (IS2K); "InternetWorld" in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
; and APRICOT
Apricot
The apricot, Prunus armeniaca, is a species of Prunus, classified with the plum in the subgenus Prunus. The native range is somewhat uncertain due to its extensive prehistoric cultivation.- Description :...
, the Asia-Pacific Regional Internet Conference on Operational Technologies. He was also among the attendees at the first ever Def Con
DEF CON
DEF CON is one of the world's largest annual computer hacker conventions, held every year in Las Vegas, Nevada...
. He is known for extensive "rant" essays and speeches on technology and policy. He has also been a co-host on episodes of "Binary Revolution", as a cryptography
Cryptography
Cryptography is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of third parties...
expert.
Writing
- "An open letter to PFIR on "Whois" privacy", Politech listserv, June 24, 2004
- "DNS WHOIS: Barking up the wrong tree", CircleID, June 28, 2004
- "The Road Ahead for Top-Level Domains", Vint Cerf answers three of Tom's questions in an interview, CircleID, March 13, 2006
- "Academic freedom and the hacker ethic", Communications of the ACM, June 2006.
- "Puppy smoothies: Improving the reliability of open, collaborative wikis", First Monday, September 2006.
External links
- Decius's page at MemeStreams
- Binary Revolution
- Industrial Memetics Institute
- PhreakNIC technology conference
- MemeStreams Weblog Community