About

Dr. Whitfield Diffie, a globally renowned pioneer, is best known for co-discovering of the concept of public key cryptography, which underlies the security of internet commerce and all modern secure communication systems. He is a winner of the 2016 Alan M. Turing Award (often referred to as the technology Nobel prize); member of the NSA Cryptologic Hall of Honor; and Member of the Royal Society of London. He is an Honorary Fellow at Gonville and Caius College Cambridge University.

Another A groundbreaking contribution by Diffie was the “digital signature” ushering in a new era of trust and security in the digital realm. This groundbreaking technology revolutionized the way businesses operate, enhancing commerce and the integrity of command and control systems.

 While he is considered one of the world’s greatest inventors, recently much of Diffie’s attention has been focused on public policy, in the areas cybersecurity and privacy. He has testified several times before both the U.S. House and Senate committees. His position — in opposition to limitations on the business and personal use of cryptography — has been the subject of articles in the New York Times Magazine, Wired, Omni and Discover. Diffie’s work has also been portrayed on the Discovery Channel, Equinox TV, and the Japanese TV network NHK among others.

Diffie received a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and he was awarded a Doctorate in Technical Sciences by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology for the creation of a new field of science: public-key cryptography.