Philip R. Zimmermann
Creator of PGP, Zimmermann's Website
Philip R.
Zimmermann is the creator of Pretty Good Privacy, an email encryption software
package. Originally designed as a human rights tool, PGP was published for free
on the Internet in 1991. This made Zimmermann the target of a three-year
criminal investigation, because the government held that US export restrictions
for cryptographic software were violated when PGP spread worldwide. Despite the
lack of funding, the lack of any paid staff, the lack of a company to stand
behind it, and despite government persecution, PGP nonetheless became the most
widely used email encryption software in the world. After the government
dropped its case in early 1996, Zimmermann founded PGP Inc. That company was
acquired by Network Associates Inc (NAI) in December 1997, where he stayed on
for three years as Senior Fellow. In August 2002 PGP was acquired from NAI by a
new company called PGP Corporation, where Zimmermann now serves as special
advisor and consultant. Zimmermann currently is consulting for a number of
companies and industry organizations on matters cryptographic, and is also a
Fellow at the Stanford Law School's Center for Internet and Society.
Before founding PGP Inc, Zimmermann was a software engineer with more than 20
years of experience, specializing in cryptography and data security, data
communications, and real-time embedded systems. His interest in the political
side of cryptography grew out of his background in military policy issues.
Zimmermann has received numerous technical and humanitarian awards for his
pioneering work in cryptography. In 2003 he was included on the Heinz Nixdorf
Museums Forum Wall of Fame, and in 2001 he was inducted into the CRN Industry
Hall of Fame. In 2000 InfoWorld named him one of the Top 10 Innovators in
E-business. In 1999 he received the Louis Brandeis Award from Privacy
International, in 1998 a Lifetime Achievement Award from Secure Computing
Magazine, and in 1996 the Norbert Wiener Award from Computer Professionals for
Social Responsibility for promoting the responsible use of technology. He also
received the 1995 Chrysler Award for Innovation in Design, the 1995 Pioneer
Award from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the 1996 PC Week IT Excellence
Award, and the 1996 Network Computing Well-Connected Award for "Best Security
Product." PGP was selected by Information Week as one of the Top 10 Most
Important Products of 1994. In 1995 Newsweek named Zimmermann one of the "Net
50", the 50 most influential people on the Internet.
In addition to the awards for versions of PGP developed before Zimmermann
started a company, subsequent versions of PGP as refined by the company's
engineering team continue to be recognized each year with many more industry
awards.
Zimmermann received his bachelor's degree in computer science from Florida
Atlantic University in 1978. He is a member of the International Association of
Cryptologic Research, the Association for Computing Machinery, and the League
for Programming Freedom. He serves on the Roundtable on Scientific
Communication and National Security, a collaborative project of The National
Academies and The Center for Strategic and International Studies. He is
Chairman of the OpenPGP Alliance, serves on the Board of Directors for Computer
Professionals for Social Responsibility, and is on the Advisory Boards for
Santa Clara University's Computer Engineering Department, Anonymizer.com, Hush
Communications, Encentuate, and Qualys.