On 20 June 2005, Government Computer News posted the transcript of an interview with computer and network security guru Dan Farmer. With increasing U.S. military reliance on information and computer technologies of all types, computer and network security are more important than ever. Here is what GCN had to say about Farmer. (For the full story, click on the link bellow.)
In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the Defense Department called on IT experts to help assess the security of public networks in the event of a cyberattack on the United States. Among the luminaries who converged on the Pentagon, including founders of Google Inc., Netscape Communications Corp. and Yahoo Inc., was Dan Farmer, current chief technology officer of Elemental Security Inc., former Marine, and conscientious objector to the first Persian Gulf War. He’s also the guy who arguably put network security on the map…
He has spoken before Congress, co-authored a book on computer forensics and testified against the music-swapping service Napster on behalf of the recording industry (for which he received a gold record).
But perhaps most important is his relationship with SATAN, the Security Administrator’s Tool for Analyzing Networks, which he helped develop in 1995. Before SATAN, few IT administrators thought about network security or how hackers could break into their systems. Much to their discomfort, Farmer showed them.
Source: Brad Grimes, "Network security: a devilish mess," Government Computer News (20 June 2005).