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Dorothy Elizabeth Denning (née Robling, born August 12, 1945) is a US-American
information security Information security, sometimes shortened to InfoSec, is the practice of protecting information by mitigating information risks. It is part of information risk management. It typically involves preventing or reducing the probability of unauthorize ...
researcher known for
lattice-based access control In computer security, lattice-based access control (LBAC) is a complex access control model based on the interaction between any combination of objects (such as resources, computers, and applications) and subjects (such as individuals, groups or org ...
(LBAC),
intrusion detection system An intrusion detection system (IDS; also intrusion prevention system or IPS) is a device or software application that monitors a network or systems for malicious activity or policy violations. Any intrusion activity or violation is typically rep ...
s (IDS), and other cyber security innovations. She published four books and over 200 articles. Inducted into the National Cyber Security Hall of Fame in 2012, she is now Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Defense Analysis, Naval Postgraduate School.


Early life and education

Dorothy Elizabeth Robling, daughter of C. Lowell and Helen Watson Robling, grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She earned a
Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...
degree in mathematics in 1967 followed by a
Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...
degree in 1969 at the
University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
. Her PhD thesis was on ''Secure Information Flow in Computer Systems'' and awarded in 1975 by
Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and mone ...
.


Career and research

Denning began her academic career at
Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and mone ...
as assistant professor from 1975 to 1981. While associate professor at Purdue (1981-1983), she wrote her first book, ''Cryptography and Data Security'' in 1982. She joined SRI International as computer scientist from 1983 to 1987, working on the first intrusion detection system and on database security. After a stint as principal software engineer at
Digital Equipment Corporation Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC ), using the trademark Digital, was a major American company in the computer industry from the 1960s to the 1990s. The company was co-founded by Ken Olsen and Harlan Anderson in 1957. Olsen was president un ...
's Palo Alto Systems Research Center (1987-1991), she returned to academe as chair of the Computer Science Department at
Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
. She later became Georgetown's Patricia and Patrick Callahan Family Professor of
Computer Science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to practical disciplines (includi ...
and director of the Georgetown Institute of Information Assurance. In 2002 Denning became professor in the Department of Defense Analysis at the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California, then distinguished professor in 2009, retiring as emeritus distinguished professor at the end of 2016. Throughout her career, Denning anticipated and addressed the cyber security issues of the day. She was the first president of the
International Association for Cryptologic Research International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...
(1983-1986). With husband Peter in 1997 she edited ''Internet Besieged: Countering Cyberspace Scofflaws'', a comprehensive collection of essays on cyber security. In 1998 she wrote ''Information Warfare and Security''. She testified multiple times before various congressional subcommittees studying technology, infrastructure, intellectual property, and cyberterrorism. Her innovations won awards, and her opinions stirred up controversy. A full list of publications is available on her full ''vita'' at the Naval Postgraduate School website.


Innovations

Denning has received over 20 awards for her innovations in computer security. Key contributions are described below. "A Lattice Model of Secure Information Flow" presented in 1975 provided a method for controlling access to data which is still used today. Detecting intruders is key to protecting computer systems. While at SRI International, Denning and
Peter G. Neumann Peter Gabriel Neumann (born 1932) is a computer-science researcher who worked on the Multics operating system in the 1960s. He edits the RISKS Digest columns for ACM ''Software Engineering Notes'' and ''Communications of the ACM''. He founded ...
developed an intrusion detection system (IDS) model using statistics for anomaly detection that is still the basis for
intrusion detection An intrusion detection system (IDS; also intrusion prevention system or IPS) is a device or software application that monitors a network or systems for malicious activity or policy violations. Any intrusion activity or violation is typically rep ...
systems today. SRI's Intrusion Detection Expert System (IDES) ran on Sun workstations and considered both user and network level data. It combined a rule-based Expert System to detect known types of intrusions with a statistical anomaly-detection component based on profiles of users, host systems, and target systems. (An artificial neural network was proposed as a third component; All three components would then report to a resolver). SRI followed IDES in 1993 with the Next-generation Intrusion Detection Expert System (NIDES). The Multics Intrusion Detection and Alerting System (MIDAS), which protected National Security Agencies (NAS) Dockmaster System from 1998–2001, is an example of a fielded expert-system-based IDS. Denning improved data security via encryption technology. She introduced timestamps in key distribution protocols, cryptographic checksums for multilevel database security, and a method for improving the security of digital signatures with RSA and other public key crypto systems. She considered key escrow systems, Internet crime and hacking. Her book ''Cryptography and Data Security'' became an ACM Classic, introducing
cryptography Cryptography, or cryptology (from grc, , translit=kryptós "hidden, secret"; and ''graphein'', "to write", or ''-logia'', "study", respectively), is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of adver ...
to many. In database security, Denning found ways to reduce inference threats in multilevel databases. She reported on the problems of working with data across different classification levels. With L. Scott, Denning wrote two papers on using Global Positioning Systems for geo-encryption to enhance data security. Although she remained a technical expert, Denning's interests evolved to consider legal, ethical, and social issues. She addressed wiretapping, the growth of the Internet, cyber terrorism and cyber warfare. Her most recent papers focused on current cyber threats and defenses.


Controversy

Denning interviewed hackers for her research on hacking and "hactivism". She was criticized when she found positive things to say about their actions and wrote a 1995 postscript. Denning was widely criticized for her role in NSA's controversial
Clipper chip The Clipper chip was a chipset that was developed and promoted by the United States National Security Agency (NSA) as an encryption device that secured "voice and data messages" with a built-in backdoor that was intended to "allow Federal, State, ...
initiative to give the government authorized access to encrypted private communications through a key escrow system. At the government's request Denning privately reviewed the classified Skipjack block cipher, and testified in Congress that general publication of the algorithm would enable someone to build a hardware or software product that used SKIPJACK without escrowing keys. In public forums, such as the
Usenet Usenet () is a worldwide distributed discussion system available on computers. It was developed from the general-purpose Unix-to-Unix Copy (UUCP) dial-up network architecture. Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979, and it wa ...
forum comp.risks, she defended the Clipper chip and other approaches to key escrow that offered strong security while enabling law enforcement to decrypt without a warrant. However, she did not advocate making key escrow mandatory. Eventually, Clipper was dropped and Skipjack was declassified and published. Denning served as an expert witness in the 1990 trial of '' United States v. Riggs''. Her testimony helped lead the government to drop charges against defendant Craig Neidorf, who had taken an electronic 911 directory across state lines. In 1992, Denning challenged the existing national standard for evaluating trusted systems (TCSEC), noting that "By the time a system is evaluated it is obsolete." She maintained that "trust is not a property but an assessment" by the real world market. This was not the only criticism, and the TCSEC has since been replaced. Lack of
product liability Product liability is the area of law in which manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, retailers, and others who make products available to the public are held responsible for the injuries those products cause. Although the word "product" has b ...
for software is a contentious topic. When Denning proposed software vendors accept liability for errors in their products, industry pushed back. Steve Lipner, charged with software security at
Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washin ...
, argued that companies with deep pockets like Microsoft would be sued to death, even if they proved repeatedly that they followed the best secure software development practices. A few large vendors, such as Volvo, have announced plans to accept both hardware and software liability in their future autonomous cars when national product liability standards are established.


Awards and honors

*In 1995 Denning was named an
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by the Association for Computing Machinery. *The 1999 National Computer Systems Security Award recognized her "outstanding contributions to the field of computer security". *''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
'' magazine named her a security innovator in 2001. *The 2001 Augusta Ada Lovelace Award from the
Association for Women in Computing The Association for Women in Computing (AWC) is a professional organization for women in computing. It was founded in 1978 in Washington, D.C., and is a member of the Institute for Certification of Computing Professionals (ICCP). Purpose The pur ...
acknowledged "her outstanding in computer security and cryptography as well as her extraordinary contributions to national policy debates on cyber terrorism and information warfare". *The 2004 Harold F. Tipton Award recognized "Sustained excellence throughout eroutstanding information security career". *In 2008 ACM's special interest group on security, audit and control (ACM SIGSAC) bestowed their Outstanding Innovator Award upon Dr. Denning. *She was named a fellow of the International Information Security Certification Consortium (ISC2). *In 2010 she was named a distinguished fellow of the Information Systems Security Association (ISSA). *In 2012 she was among the first inductees into the National Cyber Security Hall of Fame. The
New Jersey City University New Jersey City University (NJCU) is a public university in Jersey City, New Jersey. Originally chartered in 1927, and known as Jersey City State College for 40 years of its history, New Jersey City University consists of the School of Business, ...
named its new security center the Dr. Dorothy E. Denning Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education.http://www.nicu.edu/professional-security-studies/national-center-academic-excellence


Personal life

While working on her PhD in computer science at Purdue University, she married Peter J. Denning in 1974.


References


External links


Dorothy Denning oral history
Charles Babbage Institute The IT History Society (ITHS) is an organization that supports the history and scholarship of information technology by encouraging, fostering, and facilitating archival and historical research. Formerly known as the Charles Babbage Foundation, ...
, University of Minnesota.
''The Future of Cryptography''
a 1996 essay in which Denning gave her view of the future

a 1999 essay in which Denning updated her view
Dorothy Denning's Home Page
at Georgetown University, not updated since 2002

of Denning by Gary McGraw

Testimony Concerning Computer Encryption by Dorothy Denning

a classic Internet satire of Denning's opposition to citizen cryptography

a 1997 declaration in which Denning said that she did not recommend domestic restrictions on the use encryption within the United States, so long as all crypto keys are legally required to be accessible to the government by court order. {{DEFAULTSORT:Denning, Dorothy E. 1945 births American computer scientists Computer systems researchers Living people University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts alumni Naval Postgraduate School faculty Fellows of the Association for Computing Machinery Computer security academics American women computer scientists American women academics 21st-century American women Purdue University alumni