Security Engineer

Curriculum Vitae

Derek Atkins

Career Overview

Derek Atkins has been active in the Internet and security communities

since 1989, as a student, researcher, software engineer, systems

architect, and consultant. Since 1994 he has specialized in

architecting, designing, developing, and deploying network and systems

security applications.

Mr. Atkins currently serves as President of IHTFP Consulting, Inc., a

Boston based consulting firm he founded in 2001 to provide expert

services in Internet and computer system security. In this capacity

Mr. Atkins has implemented all aspects of network infrastructure and

security for his clients, including firewall systems, global email

systems, World Wide Web infrastructure, and cryptographic network and

email security systems (including Pretty Good Privacy). In this role

he has provided expert advice analyzing security protocols, designing

and implementing secure systems in numerous programming languages, and

performing post-mortem assessments of security system failures.

Publications authored by Mr. Atkins include "The Magic Words are

Squeamish Ossifrage" in AsiaCrypt '94, "Scaling the Web of Trust:

Combining Kerberos and PGP to Provide Large Scale Authentication"

published at Usenix 1995, "Media Bank: Access and Access Control"

published in 1995 by the MIT Media Lab. Mr. Atkins is also the

creator of US Patents 6,374,402, "Method and apparatus for

installation abstraction in a secure content delivery system" (April

16, 2002) and 6,763,370, "Method and apparatus for content protection

in a secure content delivery system" (July 13, 2004).

Mr. Atkins is extremely active in the Internet Engineering Task Force

(IETF), the Internet standardization body. As a member of the IETF,

Mr. Atkins was instrumental in the design and standardization of

several major Internet protocols, including the OpenPGP and Instant

Messaging protocols. Mr. Atkins currently serves as chairman of the

Kerberized Internet Negotiation of Keys Working Group, the Instant

Messaging and Presence Protocol Working Group, and the OpenPGP working

group. He also serves on the IETF's Security Directorate and formerly

served on the IETF's Domain Name System Directorate in the role of

security guru.

Previously Mr. Atkins was a member of the PacketCable Security focus

group of CableLabs, standardizing security measures to protect Voice

over IP systems designed for cable systems. All cable operators will

only buy VoIP products that meet the standards from this focus group.

Mr. Atkins frequently speaks in public and regularly gives

presentations and tutorials on the subject of systems and network

security, cryptography, PGP, and Internet protocols.

Brief Employment History

2001 to Present -- President, IHTFP Consulting. Founded and managed

Boston based consulting firm specializing in Internet and systems

security practices, especially focusing on auditing, architecting, and

designing secure applications, infrastructure, and distributed systems.

1998-2001 -- Telcordia Technologies (formerly Bellcore). A Senior

Scientist in the Network Security Research Group studying numerous

methods and protocols for Internet Security based on IPsec, DNSSec,

Kerberos, RPC, etc. Examined practical methods to protect network

systems such as Voice over IP, Enterprise, and Internet

Infrastructures.

1997-1998 -- Arepa, Inc (now Into Networks). A co-founder and Chief

Technology Officer, architected, designed, and implemented a Digital

Rights Management system for real-time software distribution and

click-to-run access from a distributed, secure network infrastructure.

1995-1997 -- Sun Microsystems. Designed and implemented security

systems and applications including Security Dynamic DNS Update,

GSSAPI, GSS_RPC, and Pretty Good Privacy 3.0/5.0.

1989-1995 -- Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Researched the

application, implementation, and limitations of various security

systems including Kerberos, PGP, and Digital Rights Management

systems. Discovered the limitations of RSA by leading the RSA-129

factoring effort in 1993-1994. Joined the PGP development team,

eventually becoming the lead engineer.

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