Oral history interview with Ross Anderson

Abstract

Computer security pioneer Ross Anderson discusses his education and early career as a computer security consultant (serving banks and other companies) before returning to school to complete a Ph.D. working under Roger Needham at the University of Cambridge. The bulk of the interview focuses on his academic career in the computer security field at the Computer Laboratory, University of Cambridge. Among the topics discussed are cryptography, computer security education, and Anderson’s leadership role in launching and providing a substantial infrastructure for the development of the field of computer security economics—including the annual Workshop on the Economics of Information Security (WEIS), which Anderson co-founded in 2002.

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1116862, “Building an Infrastructure for Computer Security History.”