FC: Whit Diffie's new job as Sun Microsystems' chief security officer

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

---

To: Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>
From: Whitfield Diffie <whitfield.diffie () sun com>
Date: Wed, 17 Apr 2002 11:14:29 -0800
Subject: New job

                                Wednesday  17 April 2002  at 11h01

Declan,

    I though you might be ineterested that, as Susan Landau puts it,
I am going operational.

                                        Whit


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                   

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Brett Smith
Sun Microsystems, Inc.
(408) 276-6143
brett.smith () sun com

Penelope Bruce
Sun Microsystems, Inc.
(650) 786-7220
penelope.bruce () sun com


SUN MICROSYSTEMS APPOINTS WORLD-RENOWNED SECURITY EXPERT, WHITFIELD DIFFIE,
AS CHIEF SECURITY OFFICER; CREATES GLOBAL SECURITY PROGRAM OFFICE

Sun Veteran and Inventor of Public Key Encryption to Lead Global Security
Initiative to Evangelize Sun's Extensive Security Offerings and Key Issues
Concerning Technology Security

Santa Clara, CA -- April 17, 2002 -- Sun Microsystems today announced two
significant and newly-created positions - Chief Security Officer and
Director of the newly created Sun Global Security Program Office.  The
positions are intended to further Sun's leadership in world-class, secure
information technology products and coordinate the expansion of
security-related product and services innovations.

Sun's security expert Whitfield Diffie is appointed Chief Security Officer
and Joanne Masters is appointed Director of Sun's Global Security Program
Office.  Both appointments are effective immediately.

"Sun has always understood that security is indispensable to enterprise
computing in a network environment and has always provided products and
services that reflect this understanding," comments Ed Zander, president
and COO of Sun Microsystems.  "As our world becomes more and more
connected, we see our customers looking for security that is effective,
cost-effective and easy to use.  Whitfield is recognized as one of the
world's foremost experts in this field and eminently qualified to lead this
important initiative."

The key objectives of the Chief Security Officer and the Global Security
Program Office are:
* To be an advocate for Sun's industry-leading security offerings with
customers and partners, and educate them on key technology security issues.
* To expand Sun's relationship with key security organizations, nationally
and internationally, in an effort to address the Internet's fragmented
security environment.
* To anticipate and address future customer security requirements by a
coordinated process across all of Sun Microsystems' research, product
development assessment, marketing and sales.

"I always thought of Whit as Sun's Chief Security Officer," said Vint Cerf,
WorldCom's Senior VP of Internet Architecture and Technology.  "This is
well-deserved recognition of his stature in the security community, and a
clear indication of Sun's commitment to securing information technology
around which much of today's business, government and personal worlds now
revolve.  One of the industry's challenges is to find ways to make security
less inconvenient without losing its effectiveness.  If it can be done at
all, Whit's the right man to do it."

"I have known Whitfield Diffie, his superior technical achievements and his
advocacy for strong security in telecommunications, since my days as
Director of the National Security Agency when we testified together before
the U.S. Senate," comments Mike McConnell, a Vice President at Booz Allen
Hamilton leading the firm's Infrastructure Assurance, Information
Operations, and Military Intelligence practices, and former Director of the
National Security Agency.  Mike also served as the intelligence officer for
Gen. Powell during operation Desert Storm.  "Even more than our first
encounter, I learned that cyber security is a critical issue of national
importance.  Not only is it important to national and economic security, it
also impacts the very safety and privacy of our citizens and all those who
use global telecommunications systems.  In Whitfield Diffie, Sun
Microsystems has chosen a leading national advocate and technical expert
with broad-based business and policy expertise in the security field.  This
is an excellent choice to lead the industry's discussions around the
critical areas of security."

Whitfield Diffie, world-renowned authority on cryptography and security
technology, joined Sun in 1991 after twelve years as manager of secure
systems research at Northern Telecom. Diffie, working in Sun Labs, was one
of the driving forces in the policy struggle that has led to legal
recognition for the importance of advanced security technologies for modern
society.

Diffie is also famous as the inventor of the Public Key Encryption concept
that underlies secure electronic commerce and is recognized in security and
intelligence circles worldwide as an authority on information technology
security issues.

The Sun Microsystems Global Security Program Office will be led by Sun
Microsystems Director Joanne Masters, working in partnership with Diffie.
In addition to the objectives above, her charter will also be to drive
cross-Sun Microsystems initiatives related to raising Sun's presence on
Security issues.

About Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision - "The Network Is The
Computer[tm]" - has propelled Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Nasdaq: SUNW) to its
position as a leading provider of industrial-strength hardware, software
and services that power the Internet and allow companies worldwide to make
the net work.  Sun can be found in more than 170 countries and on the World
Wide Web at http://sun.com.

# # #

Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun logo and The Network Is The Computer are
trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United
States and other countries.




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