Born in 1957, Dr Frederick Cohen has spent much of his professional career as a leading authority in information protection. Accredited as the first person in history to name and define the computer virus, as well as the first to devise and demonstrate the initial versions of virus defense, the protection techniques that he pioneered are now used in more than three quarters of all the computers in the world (University of Louisiana 2002).
Cohen boasts an impressive educational background, including a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Carnegie-Mellon University in 1977; a Masters degree in Information Science from the University of Pittsburgh in 1981; and a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Southern California in 1986.
For more than 3 decades, Cohen has made a significant impact on information protection as we know it. In 1984 Cohen published his world-renowned paper - Computer Viruses: Theory and Experiments - instantaneously becoming one of the world’s foremost sources on information protection, and in 1989 was awarded the prestigious international Information Technology Award for his work on integrity protection The author of over 150 journal articles and other papers on information protection, Cohen has also written several widely acclaimed books on the subject - many of which have provided material for various federal studies and reports. He is acknowledged as the first person to define and research Internet-based Distributed Coordinated Attacks (DCAs), and is responsible for the introduction of security games, simulations, and strategic scenarios designed to promote development, training, and awareness of a range of issues in corporate,educational, and government environments.
Cohen’s work began in the 1970s, during which he designed protocols for secure digital networks carrying voice, video, and data, and also helped to develop and prototype the electronic cashwatch for implementing personal digital money systems; while during the 1980s he developed integrity mechanisms for secure operating systems, consulted for many major corporations, and taught short courses in information protection to over 10,000 students worldwide (University of Louisiana 2002). During the 1990's Cohen developed protection testing and audit techniques and systems, secure Internet servers and systems, defensive information warfare techniques and systems (University of Louisiana 2002), and worked with many of the largest companies and Federal Agencies on issues related to information protection - such as the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), Sandia National Laboratories, the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, and the SEARCH group (Cohen 2000).
Today Dr Frederick Cohen continues to share his knowledge of information protection, and works with students at Sandia National Laboratories in the College Cyber Defenders program, and graduate students at the University of New Haven in digital forensic investigation (Cohen 2000). He continues to research information protection, and writes a monthly column for Network Security magazine on managing network security.
Cohen, F. 2000. Cyber Threats and the U.S. Economy - an Address to the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress. http://mfnl.xjtu.edu.cn/gov-doe-sandia/testimony/000224/httoc.htm (accessed October 24, 2004).
Louisiana Distinguished Lecture Series XVI - Dr Fred Cohen. 2002. University of Louisiana, The Centre for Advanced Computer Studies Web site: http://www.cacs.louisiana.edu/news_events/dls/200203/cohen.htm (accessed October 27, 2004).
Melissa Patch 14:36, 28 Oct 2004 (EST)
