Rebecca Herold Oral History

Abstract

This oral history interview is sponsored by and a part of NSF 2202484 “Mining a Useable Past: Perspectives, Paradoxes, and Possibilities with Security and Privacy,” at the Charles Babbage Institute. Security and privacy pioneer Rebecca Herold discusses her education. The bulk of the oral history interview focuses on the various positions she had, the professional organizations she has been a part of, and the skills, knowledge, and leadership she has provided in privacy and security. This includes discussion of the importance of policies and the human factor to security systems. This includes her influential time at Principal Financial Group (creating a pioneering Change Control System, Anti-Malware Program and Corporate Dial-In Access solution), at other firms, and starting and developing her consultancy and Software as a Service company—and trademarking “Privacy Professor.” Herold was a long-time adjunct professor teaching at Norwich University Masters program). She also discusses her early involvement with HIPAA regulations, developing expertise, and co-authoring an important and widely read textbook on the topic, as well as influential work on standards at NIST.