RSA® Conference 2009 Honors Information Security and Cryptography Experts for Their Work in the Fields of Mathematics, Public Policy and Security Practices

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--RSA^® Conference (www.rsaconference.com), the world’s leading information security conferences and expositions, today announced the honorees in its 12th annual awards program. Award applicants were judged in the fields of mathematics, public policy and security practices, and the honored recipients in each field were revealed yesterday at RSA Conference 2009 in San Francisco. Additionally, Taher Elgamal, Chief Security Officer for Axway, was presented a lifetime achievement award.

“Taher Elgamal, Neal Koblitz, Victor S. Miller, Keith Mularski and Robert Lentz have all made significant advancements in their fields, and we are proud to acknowledge their contributions.”

“From its inception, RSA Conference has sought to identify and recognize influential individuals who are true pioneers in the information security industry,” said Sandra Toms LaPedis, Area Vice President and General Manager of RSA Conference. “Taher Elgamal, Neal Koblitz, Victor S. Miller, Keith Mularski and Robert Lentz have all made significant advancements in their fields, and we are proud to acknowledge their contributions.”

The recipients of this year’s RSA Conference Awards are as follows:

Lifetime Achievement Award
Taher Elgamal, Chief Security Officer, Axway

Dr. Taher Elgamal is recognized in the industry as the "inventor of SSL,” having conceived several industry and government standards in the data security and digital signatures area. In 1985, Dr. Elgamal published a paper titled, “A Public Key Cryptosystem and a Signature Scheme Based on Discrete Logarithms,” in which he proposed the design of the Elgamal discrete log cryptosystem and of the Elgamal signature scheme. The latter scheme became the basis for Digital Signature Algorithm adopted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology as the Digital Signature Standard. The Elgamal Cryptosystem is used in many commercial products and is the foundation for modern elliptic-curve ciphers. He also participated in the 'SET' credit card payment protocol, plus a number of Internet payment schemes.

Excellence in the Field of Mathematics
Neal Koblitz, University of Washington, and Victor S. Miller, IDA Center for Communications Research

Professor Neal Koblitz and Dr. Victor Miller have made fundamental contributions to public-key cryptography. In 1985, Koblitz, a faculty member in mathematics at the University of Washington, and Miller, then a scientist at IBM, independently proposed a new approach to public-key cryptography based on elliptic curves. Thanks to its mathematical elegance and efficiency, Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) has achieved far-reaching importance in both academic research and commercial cryptographic systems.

Neal Koblitz is a Professor of Mathematics at the University of Washington in the Department of Mathematics. He is also an adjunct professor with the Centre for Applied Cryptographic Research at the University of Waterloo. Victor S. Miller is a mathematician at the Center for Communications Research of the Institute for Defense Analyses in Princeton, NJ.

Excellence in the Field of Public Policy
J. Keith Mularski, Supervisory Special Agent, Federal Bureau of Investigation

Keith Mularski is assigned to the Cyber Initiative and Resource Fusion Unit, which is part of the FBI’s Cyber Division. Mularski, along with U.S. and international colleagues, is recognized for his contributions in bringing down "Dark Market," an online "carding" forum that was one of the largest of its kind in the cyber underworld. Cyber criminals using this forum represented a virtual transnational criminal network spanning numerous countries, and were involved with the buying and selling of stolen financial information including credit card data, login credentials and equipment used in carrying out certain financial crimes. On October 16, 2008, after a two-year undercover operation the FBI and other international law enforcement agencies arrested 56 fraudsters and helped prevent an estimated $70 million in economic losses.

Excellence in the Field of Security Practices
Robert Lentz, Deputy Secretary of Defense, Department of Defense (DoD)

During Robert Lentz’s eight year tenure, he has achieved nearly 100 percent deployment of the Public Key Infrastructure Common Access Cards across the DoD-wide network, in addition to the initial deployment of host-based Security Services. Lentz is also recognized for implementing a revolutionary risk-management based information system certification and accreditation program known as the Defense Information Assurance Certification & Accreditation Program. He launched the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) Cyber Security effort with top DIB CEO's to develop information-sharing mechanisms, began the DoD's first Defense Venture Capital Initiative and developed the DoD International Information Assurance Program, which forges partnerships with allies, NATO and other collective security organizations to enhance cyber situational awareness and protect U.S. information on foreign information systems.

Additional information about the RSA Conference Awards program and honorees can be found at: http://www.rsaconference.com/2009/us/agenda-and-sessions/rsa-conference-awards.htm.

About RSA Conference

RSA Conference helps drive the global information security agenda with annual events in the U.S., Europe and Japan. Throughout its 18-year history, RSA Conference consistently attracts the world’s best and brightest in the field, creating opportunities to learn about information security’s most important issues through face-to-face and online interactions with peers, luminaries and emerging and established companies. As information security professionals work to stay ahead of ever-changing security threats and trends, they turn to RSA Conference for a 360-degree view of the industry. RSA Conference seeks to arm participants with the knowledge they need to remain at the forefront of the information security business. More information on events, online programming and the most up-to-date news pertaining to the information security industry can be found at www.rsaconference.com.

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