In The News

Computer security pioneer Robert Morris passes away

Computer security pioneer Robert Morris passes away

Robert Morris, who was regarded as a pioneer in the field of computer security, has passed away. He was 78.

Mr. Morris helped develop the Unix computer operating system which is used worldwide, and variations of which form the basis for software in some top smart phones and in Macintosh OSX.

His work on Unix was carried out at Bell Laboratories in the early 1970s where he was credited with being a major contributor in both the numerical functions of the operating system and its security capabilities. This included password and encryption functions.

Mr. Morris continued to develop his expertise in cryptography.

When he and a colleague were about to publish an academic paper on their unravelling of an early German encryption device, the National Security Agency requested a meeting.

Mr. Morris was asked not to publish the paper as it was feared it could reveal vulnerabilities within modern cryptographic systems.

In the mid-1980s he went to work for the NSA in the fields of computer security and, reportedly, online warfare.

Indeed, it was reported that Mr. Morris played a key role in planning what was regarded as the first cyberwar conducted by the U.S. when Saddam Hussein’s government in Iraq was targeted in the run-up to the Gulf war in 1991.

He retired in 1994.

 

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