RSA Conference Announces Recipients of 15th Annual Award Program

RSA Conference, the world’s leading information security conferences and expositions, recently announced the honorees of its 15th annual awards program. Award applicants were judged in the fields of mathematics, public policy and security practices. Also presented this year was a lifetime achievement award given out to an individual who has made a big impact in information security over the last 21 years. This year’s recipients were revealed yesterday at RSA Conference 2012 in San Francisco.

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

Excellence in the Field of Mathematics Award

Eli Biham, Professor, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Computer Science

Dr. Mitsuru Matsui, Senior Researcher, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation

Professor Eli Biham and Dr. Mitsuru Matsui have both contributed groundbreaking work on the cryptanalysis of symmetric-key ciphers. Biham, a professor and dean of the Computer Science department at the Technion-Israeli Institute of Technology, co-discovered the technique of differential cryptanalysis with Adi Shamir in the late 1980’s. Dr. Matsui, inspired by Biham and Shamir’s work, discovered the technique of linear cryptanalysis in 1993. The following year, he was the first to publicly report an experimental cryptanalysis of DES.

Excellence in the Field of Public Policy Award

Congressman Mac Thornberry (R-TX), Chair of the House Republican Task Force on Cyber Security

Mac Thornberry, a lifelong resident of the 13th District of Texas, has established himself as a leader in national security, an area in which he continues to be given new responsibilities and opportunities to help advance the security of our nation. In early 2011, Thornberry was tapped by the Speaker of the House and Majority Leader to spearhead a Cyber Security Task Force to guide House legislative action on the growing national security and economic threat. Charged with making recommendations in a number of areas including protecting critical infrastructure and sharing cyber security information, the Task Force released its recommendations on October 5, 2011 to favorable response from both sides of the House and the Senate, as well as the White House, private businesses and other outside organizations.

Excellence in the Field of Security Practices Award

Phil Agcaoili, Chief Information Security Officer, Cox Communications, Inc. and Cyber Security Committee Co-Chair of the FCC CSRIC

Phil Agcaoili has been a change agent and transformation leader in the Technology and Information Security industries for over 20 years and is the Chief Information Security Officer at Cox Communications. He has helped shape the direction of cyber security for US Telecoms through his appointment as the committee co-chair of the FCC CSRIC, and is helping to shape cyber security as a founding member of the NCTA Cyber Security Work Group. He is also guiding the direction of cloud computing as a founding member of the Cloud Security Alliance and as a co-inventor and co-author of the CSA Cloud Controls Matrix (CCM), GRC Stack, and STAR (Cloud Security Registry), and provides privacy and trust guidance as a Ponemon Institute Distinguished Fellow. Mr.Agcaoili has led security teams and has represented GE, VeriSign, Alcatel, Scientific-Atlanta, Cisco, Dell and Cox Communications in their respective Corporate Security, Privacy, Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) Councils and Committees, co-founded several companies and sold them during the Dot-Com era, secured many of the largest global companies, safely connected them at the start of the Internet era, and safeguarded the privacy for hundreds of millions of customers worldwide. He is an entrepreneur and investor, serves on the boards of several companies, and many of his protegés lead other global security teams or started their own companies.

Lifetime Achievement Award

Martin E. Hellman, Professor Emeritus of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University

Martin E. Hellman, Professor Emeritus at Stanford, is best known for his invention, with Diffie and Merkle, of public key cryptography. In addition to many other uses, this technology forms the basis for secure transactions on the Internet. He has also been a long-time contributor to the computer privacy debate, starting with the issue of DES key size in 1975 and culminating with service (1994-96) on the National Research Council's Committee to Study National Cryptographic Policy, whose main recommendations have since been implemented. Prior to joining Stanford’s faculty in 1971, Hellman was at IBM’s Watson Research Center and served as an Assistant Professor of EE at MIT. Hellman received his B.E. from New York University in 1966, and his M.S. and Ph.D. from Stanford University in 1967 and 1969, all in Electrical Engineering.

“This year’s RSA Conference Awards winners have shown what it takes to be true leaders and role models in mathematics, public policy and security,” said Sandra Toms LaPedis, Area Vice President and General Manager of RSA Conference. “As pioneers in their field that have contributed lasting value to their organizations, these recipients have helped drive the information security agenda. We are thankful to this year’s winners and hope many follow in their footsteps.”

Featured

  • Mall of America Deploys AI-Powered Analytics to Enhance Parking Intelligence

    Mall of America®, the largest shopping and entertainment complex in North America, announced an expansion of its ongoing partnership with Axis Communications to deploy cutting-edge car-counting video analytics across more than a dozen locations. With this expansion, Mall of America (MOA) has boosted operational efficiency, improved safety and security, and enabled more informed decision-making around employee scheduling and streamlining transportation for large events. Read Now

  • Security Industry Association Launches New “askSIA” AI Tool

    The Security Industry Association (SIA) has unveiled a brand-new SIA member benefit – askSIA, a conversational AI agent designed to help users get the most out of their SIA membership, easily access SIA resources and find the latest information on SIA’s training and courses, reports and publications, events, certification offerings and more. SIA members can easily find askSIA by visiting the SIA homepage or looking for the askSIA icon in the top left of webpages. Read Now

    • Industry Events
  • Industry Embraces Mobile Access, Biometrics and AI

    A combination of evolving workplace dynamics, technology innovation and new user expectations is changing how people enter and interact with physical spaces. Access control is at the heart of these changes. Combined with biometrics and AI, mobile access control has become increasingly crucial for deploying entry solutions that are seamless, secure and adaptive to user needs. Read Now

  • Sustainable Video Solution Delivered for Landmark City of London Office Development

    An advanced, end-to-end video solution from IDIS, with a focus on reducing waste and costs, has helped a major office development in the City of London align its security with sustainability objectives. Read Now

  • DHS to End ‘Shoes-Off’ Travel Policy

    Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced a new policy today which will allow passengers traveling through domestic airports to keep their shoes on while passing through security screening at TSA checkpoints. Read Now

New Products

  • Automatic Systems V07

    Automatic Systems V07

    Automatic Systems, an industry-leading manufacturer of pedestrian and vehicle secure entrance control access systems, is pleased to announce the release of its groundbreaking V07 software. The V07 software update is designed specifically to address cybersecurity concerns and will ensure the integrity and confidentiality of Automatic Systems applications. With the new V07 software, updates will be delivered by means of an encrypted file.

  • EasyGate SPT and SPD

    EasyGate SPT SPD

    Security solutions do not have to be ordinary, let alone unattractive. Having renewed their best-selling speed gates, Cominfo has once again demonstrated their Art of Security philosophy in practice — and confirmed their position as an industry-leading manufacturers of premium speed gates and turnstiles.

  • FEP GameChanger

    FEP GameChanger

    Paige Datacom Solutions Introduces Important and Innovative Cabling Products GameChanger Cable, a proven and patented solution that significantly exceeds the reach of traditional category cable will now have a FEP/FEP construction.