Tom Berson

I am the founder and owner of Anagram Laboratories, a thriving information security consultancy. Anagram is celebrating its 22nd Anniversary during 2008.

I have been interested in technologies of security since 1957, and have been working in the field since 1967.

There are few things sweeter than the respect of one's peers. In January 2004 I was the first person appointed a Fellow of the International Association for Cryptologic Research. My citation reads, "For visionary and essential service to the IACR and for numerous valuable contributions to the technical, social, and commercial development of cryptology and security."

I was re-elected as a Director of IACR. My candidate statement is here. A big "thank you" to all the IACR members who voted for me.

I am a member of the National Research Council's Committee on Policy Consequences and Legal/Ethical Implications of Offensive Information Warfare. This is very interesting stuff. We expect to complete our work during 2008. You will want to read our report when it is eventually published.

I am a lifelong student of Oriental wisdom literature and martial arts. I have the honor to be an Advisor to the Fourth Council of the China International Cultural Exchange Center.

I was a Founder and Program Chair for CEAS 2004, the First Conference on Email and Anti-Spam. Email is understudied. CEAS aims to remedy that.

Anagram Laboratories planned to bring the world's foremost short cryptography course to Asia in 2003. The SARS situation made these plans impractical. We will try again. Course information (2003 version) is here.

During 2000-2002 I also worked part time as a Principal Scientist at the fabled but disfunctional Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). My PARC colleagues and I investigated the implications of a future in which cryptographic operations are abundant. I organized workshops on Life in a Future of Cryptographic Abundance in 2000 and 2001. You are invited to read and comment on the Quicksilver Manifesto, our call to political and social action. My essay, Cryptographic Abundance, appeared in Technology Review for Jan/Feb 2002.

In December 2000 I had the honor of delivering the IACR Distinguished Lecture in Kyoto. I spoke about the past 30 years and the next 20 years from personal, technical, and professional points of view. The title of my talk was "Cryptography Everywhere."

My professional life is full. I am Past-Chair of the IEEE Computer Society Technical Committee on Security and Privacy. I am a Past-President and a Director of the International Association for Cryptologic Research (IACR). I enjoyed a 14-year stint as an editor of the Journal of Cryptology, an archival journal of important results. I am also Editor Emeritus of the Journal of Craptology, a much less serious affair. Why be simply mediocre? Aim your work for one of these extreme journals.

I am on the advisory board of the International Journal of Information Security (IJIS).

From 1979-1986 I was a successful Silicon Valley entrepreneur at Sytek, Inc., a pioneer in broadband local area networking. I still love the problems and opportunities at early-stage and fast-growing companies. Presently, I am:

• Advisory Board Member and Chief Security Advisor at SalesForce.com (NYSE: CRM). SalesForce provides web-based services in support of sales and customer relationship management activities. We are also a pioneer in the client-service space.
• Advisory Board Member at Paul Kocher's Cryptography Research, Inc. CRI offers an excellent mix of cryptography research, practice and technology.
• Advisory Board Member at GigaFin Networks. GigaFin makes security and bandwidth management appliances operating at, yes, gigabit rates.
• Advisory Board Member at Cake Financial. Equity selection meets social networking. If you're under 30, check it out.

Other completed projects include membership in the National Research Council Committee to Review C4I Plans and Programs and participation in a six-month Program in Coding Theory, Computer Security and Cryptography at the Isaac Newton Institute in the University of Cambridge. I am a life member of Clare Hall, Cambridge.

My Erdös number is 2.

Here is my professional bibliography.

My amateur radio call sign is ND2T.

or phone/mail. My PGP public keys are here.