Eugene Howard Spafford (born 1956), known as Spaf, is an American

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

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 Applied science, practical discipli ...

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 money ...

and a

computer security Computer security, cybersecurity (cyber security), or information technology security (IT security) is the protection of computer systems and networks from attack by malicious actors that may result in unauthorized information disclosure, the ...

expert. Spafford serves as an advisor to U.S. government agencies and corporations. In 1998, he founded and was the first director of the Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security (

CERIAS The Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security (CERIAS) of Purdue University, United States, is a center for research and education in areas of information security for computing and communication infrastructures. It ...

) at Purdue University.

Biography

Education and early career

Spafford attended the

State University of New York at Brockport State University of New York Brockport (also known as SUNY Brockport or Brockport State, and previously The College at Brockport) is a public university in Brockport, New York. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY). History ...

, graduating with a double major in mathematics and computer science in three years. He then attended the School of Information and Computer Sciences (now the College of Computing) at the

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

. He received his

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

(M.S.) in 1981, and

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

(Ph.D.) in 1986, for his design and implementation of the

kernel Kernel may refer to: Computing * Kernel (operating system), the central component of most operating systems * Kernel (image processing), a matrix used for image convolution * Compute kernel, in GPGPU programming * Kernel method, in machine learnin ...

of the original ''Clouds''

distributed operating system A distributed operating system is system software over a collection of independent software, networked, communicating, and physically separate computational nodes. They handle jobs which are serviced by multiple CPUs. Each individual node holds a ...

. During the formative years of the Internet, Spafford made significant contributions to establishing semi-formal processes to organize and manage

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 was ...

, then the primary channel of communication between users, and to defining the standards of behavior governing its use. Spafford initiated the

Phage A bacteriophage (), also known informally as a ''phage'' (), is a duplodnaviria virus that infects and replicates within bacteria and archaea. The term was derived from "bacteria" and the Greek φαγεῖν ('), meaning "to devour". Bacterio ...

List as a response to the Morris Worm, one of the earliest

computer worm A computer worm is a standalone malware computer program that replicates itself in order to spread to other computers. It often uses a computer network to spread itself, relying on security failures on the target computer to access it. It wil ...

Computer science at Purdue

Spafford has served on the faculty at Purdue University in Indiana since 1987, and is a full professor of computer science. He is executive director emeritus of Purdue's ''Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security'' (CERIAS), and founded its predecessor, the ''COAST Laboratory''. He has stated that his research interests have focused on "the prevention, detection, and remediation of information system failures and misuse, with an emphasis on applied information security. This has included research in fault tolerance, software testing and debugging, intrusion detection, software forensics, and security policies." Spafford wrote or co-authored four books on computer and computer security, including ''Practical

Unix Unix (; trademarked as UNIX) is a family of multitasking, multiuser computer operating systems that derive from the original AT&T Unix, whose development started in 1969 at the Bell Labs research center by Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, and ot ...

and Internet Security'' for

O'Reilly Media O'Reilly Media (formerly O'Reilly & Associates) is an American learning company established by Tim O'Reilly that publishes books, produces tech conferences, and provides an online learning platform. Its distinctive brand features a woodcut of an ...

, and over 150 research papers, chapters, and monographs. In 1996, he received the Award of Distinguished Technical Communication from the Society for Technical Communication for ''Practical Unix and Internet Security''. As a PhD advisor, Spafford supervised development of the

Open Source Tripwire Open Source Tripwire is a free software security and data integrity tool for monitoring and alerting on specific file change(s) on a range of systems. The project is based on code originally contributed by Tripwire, Inc. in 2000. See also * ...

tool coded by his student

Gene Kim Tripwire, Inc. is a software company based in Portland, Oregon that focuses on security and compliance automation. It is a subsidiary of technology company Fortra. History Tripwire's intrusion detection software was created in the 1990s by P ...

. Spafford was the chief external technical advisor to the company

Tripwire A tripwire is a passive triggering mechanism. Typically, a wire or cord is attached to a device for detecting or reacting to physical movement. Military applications Such tripwires may be attached to one or more mines – especially fragme ...

during their first few years. He was also graduate advisor to

Dan Farmer Dan Farmer (born April 5, 1962) is an American computer security researcher and programmer who was a pioneer in the development of vulnerability scanners for Unix operating systems and computer networks. Life and career Farmer developed his ...

who coded the

freeware Freeware is software, most often proprietary, that is distributed at no monetary cost to the end user. There is no agreed-upon set of rights, license, or EULA that defines ''freeware'' unambiguously; every publisher defines its own rules for the f ...

Computer Oracle and Password System ( COPS) tool. In 2009, Spafford discussed on

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...

an article in

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

that looked at how the Internet had been a conduit for many types of ''

cybercrime A cybercrime is a crime that involves a computer or a computer network.Moore, R. (2005) "Cyber crime: Investigating High-Technology Computer Crime," Cleveland, Mississippi: Anderson Publishing. The computer may have been used in committing the ...

''. Recent work from Spafford has shown how to deceive adversaries and thus make computing systems more secure, drawing on his multi-disciplinary expertise in information security and psychology. Spafford is on the Board of Directors of the

Computing Research Association The Computing Research Association (CRA) is a 501(c)3 non-profit association of North American academic departments of computer science, computer engineering, and related fields; laboratories and centers in industry, government, and academia enga ...

and is the former

chairperson The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of the

Association for Computing Machinery The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) is a US-based international learned society for computing. It was founded in 1947 and is the world's largest scientific and educational computing society. The ACM is a non-profit professional member ...

's (ACM) US Public Policy Committee. He was a member of the President's Information Technology Advisory Committee from 2003 to 2005 and an advisor to the

National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National I ...

(NSF). Spaf is a Fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

(1999) and the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

(2020).

Selected honors and awards

*1996 Awarded charter membership in the

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a 501(c)(3) professional association for electronic engineering and electrical engineering (and associated disciplines) with its corporate office in New York City and its operation ...

(IEEE)

IEEE Computer Society The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a 501(c)(3) professional association for electronic engineering and electrical engineering (and associated disciplines) with its corporate office in New York City and its operati ...

's Golden Core for distinguished service to the Computer Society during its first 50 years *2000

National Institute of Standards and Technology The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce whose mission is to promote American innovation and industrial competitiveness. NIST's activities are organized into physical sci ...

(NIST) and

National Computer Security Center The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collectio ...

(NCSC) National Computer Systems Security Award *2001 Named to the

Information Systems Security Association Information Systems Security Association (ISSA) is a not-for-profit, international professional organization of information security professionals and practitioners. It was founded in 1984, after work on its establishment started in 1982. ISSA pro ...

(ISSA) Hall of Fame *2003 Awarded

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

medal for Meritorious Civilian Service *2007 ACM President's Award *2009

Distinguished Service Award *2013 Elected to the National Cybersecurity Hall of Fame *2017 Received the

International Federation for Information Processing The International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) is a global organisation for researchers and professionals working in the field of computing to conduct research, develop standards and promote information sharing. Established in 196 ...

(IFIP) TC-11 Kristian Beckman Award *2020 IEEE Security and Privacy Symposium Test of Time Award *2022 Honorary Professor of the University of Nottingham.

References

External links

* *, at Purdue
Greplaw interview

** ttp://pkiforum.com/books/interview_spafford_2a.html Part 2: Gene Spafford on key management, backup and recovery, digital certificate revocation, identity fraud and security trendsbr>''Practical Unix and Internet Security''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spafford, Gene 1956 births Living people American computer scientists Usenet people Internet pioneers Computer security academics Fellows of the Association for Computing Machinery Fellow Members of the IEEE Georgia Tech alumni Purdue University faculty