[SIGCIS-Members] Computer Security History

Mon Mar 12 08:51:21 PDT 2012

Hi,

Following are two pointers to brief notes relating to computer 
security history:

The interview of Willis Ware in the third 2011 issue of the Annals of 
the History of Computing mentions his work in the computer security 
policy area in a couple of the questions and answers.

The BBN computing history book, A Culture of Innovation ( 
<http://walden-family.com/bbn/>http://walden-family.com/bbn/ ) 
mentions early work on security for computers communicating over 
packet-networks on pages 457 and 458 with many references to the 
technical literature on page 468.

Best wishes, Dave

At 03:42 AM 3/12/2012, John Paul Laprise wrote:
>Content-Language: en-US
>Content-Type: multipart/alternative;
> 
>boundary="_000_BFA6A3B65665864DA42236EDFB2E09D733667EE0F0nuqmail1qatar_"
>
>Hi everyone,
>
>I've started a new thread due to a newly declassified document I 
>received in the (snail) mail yesterday. One of my FOIA requests 
>struck paydirt as the Ford Library declassified 
><http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/document/0310/nsdm338.pdf>NSDM 
>(National Security Decision Memorandum) 338 "Further Improvements in 
>Telecommunications Security" dated 1 September 1976. In this 
>executive document then President Ford orders the now defunct Office 
>of Telecommunications Policy (OTP) with the Department of Defense 
>(DoD) and the National Security Agency (NSA) to take action  and 
>develop further plans for protecting US telecommunications networks.
>
>By extension, this plan resulted in significant policy changes in 
>the US telecommunications market and ongoing cooperation between the 
>NSA and telecommunications companies from the beginning of deregulation.
>
>Best regards,
>
>John Laprise, Ph.D.
>Visiting Assistant Professor
><http://www.qatar.northwestern.edu/>Northwestern University Qatar
>P.O. Box 34102
>Doha, Qatar
>+974 4454 5037
>
>
>
>From: members-bounces at sigcis.org [mailto:members-bounces at sigcis.org] 
>On Behalf Of Subramanian, Ramesh Prof.
>Sent: Monday, March 12, 2012 1:32 AM
>To: members at sigcis.org
>Subject: Re: [SIGCIS-Members] computer security history
>
>Hi all,
>It is interesting to know about the CBI's on-going research on the 
>history of computer security. I just wanted to mention a closely 
>related topic which spans security and policy: information privacy. 
>It would be interesting to study the history and evolution of 
>privacy as related to information technologies. A few year ago I 
>wrote a paper on the evolution of privacy in India, but I wanted to 
>know if there is any similar work that's been done in this area.
>
>Regards,
>-Ramesh
>
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Ramesh Subramanian, Ph.D.
>Gabriel Ferrucci Professor of Information Systems
>Quinnipiac University
>275 Mount Carmel Avenue
>Hamden, CT 06518.
>Email: <mailto:rameshs at quinnipiac.edu>rameshs at quinnipiac.edu
>Web: 
><http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x1288.xml?Person=23345&type=5>http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x1288.xml?Person=23345&type=5
>&
>Visiting Fellow, Information Society Project
>Yale Law School
>127 Wall Street
>New Haven, CT 06511.
>Email: <mailto:ramesh.subramanian at yale.edu>ramesh.subramanian at yale.edu
>Web: 
><http://www.law.yale.edu/intellectuallife/9841.htm>http://www.law.yale.edu/intellectuallife/9841.htm
>On 3/11/2012 2:53 PM, Jeffrey Yost wrote:
>Jon,
>
>Very little research has been published to date on the history of 
>computer security.  Given the lack of literature on this important 
>topic (and quality resources to study it), the Charles Babbage 
>Institute proposed and was funded for a three year National Science 
>Foundation-supported study to build infrastructure for computer 
>security history.  We are just getting underway with this project 
>and will be conducting more than 30 in-depth career-spanning oral 
>history interviews with first generation computer security pioneers 
>(these will be transcribed, edited, and freely available--our 
>standard practice with CBI's oral history program).  We will also be 
>actively engaging in archival collection development efforts for 
>computer security documentation (we already have some strong holding 
>such as the Willis Ware Papers and the Donn Parker Papers), and 
>will  publish scholarship from this research project.  An advisory 
>committee of leading computer security pioneers is providing 
>guidance to us on this project.
>
>Historian and Sociologist of Science Donald McKenzie did a few 
>important articles and book chapters--see his book Mechanizing Proof 
>and an  article (co-authored w/ G. Pottinger)  on high assurance 
>work w/in the DoD (primarily work by the Air Force and Air Force 
>contractors that helped lead to TCSEC or the Orange Book) published 
>in IEEE Annals of the History of Computing 19 (3) (1997): 41-59.
>
>Also, I did a survey book chapter on the history of computer 
>security standards in de Leeuw and Bergstra's book The History of 
>Information Security a few years ago.  History of cryptography has 
>been far more thoroughly studied and has a significant secondary 
>literature (most of the chapters in the de Leeuw and Bergstra volume 
>are on this topic) and the NSA Cryptologic Museum sponsors a regular 
>conference/symposium on the history of cryptography.
>
>Cheers,
>Jeff
>On Sun, Mar 11, 2012 at 1:14 PM, Jon Lindsay 
><<mailto:jrlindsay at ucsd.edu>jrlindsay at ucsd.edu> wrote:
>Hello all,
>I have the feeling that the history of computer security, from 
>hacking techniques to the evolution of the information security 
>industry to fearmongering over cybersecurity, is a somewhat 
>understudied area. I have seen some work on the development of 
>government policy and threat framing (i.e., by Myriam Dunn Cavelty) 
>but I'm less aware of anything on the evolution of the technical and 
>industrial dark arts. If there is some good work out there, I would 
>love to see it.
>Bonus points if you can tell me when the awful phrase "digital pearl 
>harbor" first appeared!
>Cheers,
>Jon
>
>
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>
>--
>Jeffrey R. Yost, Ph.D.
>Associate Director, Charles Babbage Institute
>Faculty, Program in the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
>
>222  21st Avenue South
>University of Minnesota
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>
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>
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--
home address: 12 Linden Rd., E. Sandwich, MA 02537
home ph=508-888-7655; cell ph = 503-757-3137
email address:  dave at walden-family.com; website: 
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