Robert Morris (cryptographer)
Encyclopedia
Robert Morris was an American
cryptographer and computer scientist
.
in mathematics
from Harvard University
in 1957 and a master's degree
in applied mathematics
from Harvard
in 1958.
and worked on Multics
and later Unix
. Morris's contributions to early versions of Unix include the math library, the bc programming language
, the program
, and the password encryption scheme used for user authentication. The encryption scheme was based on using a trapdoor function
(now called a key derivation function
) to compute hashes of user password
s which were stored in the file
(NSA). He served as chief scientist of the NSA's National Computer Security Center, where he was involved in the production of the Rainbow Series
of computer security standards, and retired from the NSA in 1994. He once told a reporter that, while at the NSA, he helped the FBI decode encrypted evidence.
He was the father of Robert Tappan Morris
, perpetrator of the 1988 Morris Worm
, Meredith Morris, and Benjamin Morris.
There is a description of Morris in Clifford Stoll
's book The Cuckoo's Egg
.
Many readers of Stoll's book remember Morris for giving Stoll a challenging mathematical puzzle
(originally due to John H. Conway) in the course of their discussions on computer security
: What is the next number in the sequence 1 11 21 1211 111221? (known as the look-and-say sequence
). Stoll chose not to include the answer to this puzzle in The Cuckoo's Egg, to the frustration of many readers.
Robert Morris died in Lebanon, New Hampshire
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
cryptographer and computer scientist
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
.
Family and Education
Morris was born in Boston, Massachusetts. His parents were Walter W. Morris, a salesman, and Helen Kelly Morris. He received a bachelor's degreeBachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1957 and a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in applied mathematics
Applied mathematics
Applied mathematics is a branch of mathematics that concerns itself with mathematical methods that are typically used in science, engineering, business, and industry. Thus, "applied mathematics" is a mathematical science with specialized knowledge...
from Harvard
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1958.
Bell Labs
From 1960 until 1986, Morris was a researcher at Bell LabsBell Labs
Bell Laboratories is the research and development subsidiary of the French-owned Alcatel-Lucent and previously of the American Telephone & Telegraph Company , half-owned through its Western Electric manufacturing subsidiary.Bell Laboratories operates its...
and worked on Multics
Multics
Multics was an influential early time-sharing operating system. The project was started in 1964 in Cambridge, Massachusetts...
and later Unix
Unix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
. Morris's contributions to early versions of Unix include the math library, the bc programming language
Bc programming language
bc, for bench calculator, is "an arbitrary precision calculator language" with syntax similar to the C programming language. bc is typically used as either a mathematical scripting language or as an interactive mathematical shell....
, the program
cryptCrypt (Unix)
In Unix computing, crypt is the name of both a utility program and a C programming function. Though both are used for encrypting data, they are otherwise essentially unrelated...
, and the password encryption scheme used for user authentication. The encryption scheme was based on using a trapdoor function
Trapdoor function
A trapdoor function is a function that is easy to compute in one direction, yet believed to be difficult to compute in the opposite direction without special information, called the "trapdoor"...
(now called a key derivation function
Key derivation function
In cryptography, a key derivation function derives one or more secret keys from a secret value such as a master key or other known information such as a password or passphrase using a pseudo-random function...
) to compute hashes of user password
Password
A password is a secret word or string of characters that is used for authentication, to prove identity or gain access to a resource . The password should be kept secret from those not allowed access....
s which were stored in the file
/etc/passwd; analogous techniques, relying on different functions, are still in use today.National Security Agency
In 1986, Morris began work at the National Security AgencyNational Security Agency
The National Security Agency/Central Security Service is a cryptologic intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the collection and analysis of foreign communications and foreign signals intelligence, as well as protecting U.S...
(NSA). He served as chief scientist of the NSA's National Computer Security Center, where he was involved in the production of the Rainbow Series
Rainbow Series
The Rainbow Series is a series of computer security standards and guidelines published by the United States government in the 1980s and 1990s. They were originally published by the U.S...
of computer security standards, and retired from the NSA in 1994. He once told a reporter that, while at the NSA, he helped the FBI decode encrypted evidence.
He was the father of Robert Tappan Morris
Robert Tappan Morris
Robert Tappan Morris, , is an American computer scientist, best known for creating the Morris Worm in 1988, considered the first computer worm on the Internet - and subsequently becoming the first person convicted under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.He went on to co-found the online store...
, perpetrator of the 1988 Morris Worm
Morris (computer worm)
The Morris worm or Internet worm of November 2, 1988 was one of the first computer worms distributed via the Internet. It is considered the first worm and was certainly the first to gain significant mainstream media attention. It also resulted in the first conviction in the US under the 1986...
, Meredith Morris, and Benjamin Morris.
There is a description of Morris in Clifford Stoll
Clifford Stoll
*High-Tech Heretic: Reflections of a Computer Contrarian, Clifford Stoll, 2000, ISBN 0-385-48976-5.-External links:* at Berkeley's Open Computing Facility**, December 3, 1989* copy at Electronic Frontier Foundation, May 1988...
's book The Cuckoo's Egg
The Cuckoo's Egg (book)
The Cuckoo's Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage is a 1989 book written by Clifford Stoll. It is his first-person account of the hunt for a computer cracker who broke into a computer at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory .-Summary:Clifford Stoll managed some...
.
Many readers of Stoll's book remember Morris for giving Stoll a challenging mathematical puzzle
Puzzle
A puzzle is a problem or enigma that tests the ingenuity of the solver. In a basic puzzle, one is intended to put together pieces in a logical way in order to come up with the desired solution...
(originally due to John H. Conway) in the course of their discussions on computer security
Computer security
Computer security is a branch of computer technology known as information security as applied to computers and networks. The objective of computer security includes protection of information and property from theft, corruption, or natural disaster, while allowing the information and property to...
: What is the next number in the sequence 1 11 21 1211 111221? (known as the look-and-say sequence
Look-and-say sequence
In mathematics, the look-and-say sequence is the sequence of integers beginning as follows:To generate a member of the sequence from the previous member, read off the digits of the previous member, counting the number of digits in groups of the same digit...
). Stoll chose not to include the answer to this puzzle in The Cuckoo's Egg, to the frustration of many readers.
Robert Morris died in Lebanon, New Hampshire
Lebanon, New Hampshire
As of the census of 2000, there were 12,568 people, 5,500 households, and 3,178 families residing in the city. The population density was 311.4 people per square mile . There were 5,707 housing units at an average density of 141.4 per square mile...
.
Quotes
- Never underestimate the attention, risk, money and time that an opponent will put into reading traffic.
- Rule 1 of cryptanalysis: check for plaintextPlaintextIn cryptography, plaintext is information a sender wishes to transmit to a receiver. Cleartext is often used as a synonym. Before the computer era, plaintext most commonly meant message text in the language of the communicating parties....
. - The three golden rules to ensure computer security are: do not own a computer; do not power it on; and do not use it.
Selected publications
- (with Fred T. Grampp) UNIX Operating System Security, AT&T Bell Laboratories Technical Journal, 63, part 2, #8 (October 1984), pp. 1649–1672.
External links
- Dennis RitchieDennis RitchieDennis MacAlistair Ritchie , was an American computer scientist who "helped shape the digital era." He created the C programming language and, with long-time colleague Ken Thompson, the UNIX operating system...
: "Dabbling in the Cryptographic World" tells the story of cryptographic research he performed with Morris and why that research was never published.