October 2004

Trusted Computing Group Forms Advisory Council and Names International Security Experts as First Advisors

The Trusted Computing Group (TCG), an open industry standards organization whose specifications help vendors build products that let users protect critical data and information, has formed an advisory council that includes members with expertise in security and privacy.

The TCG Advisory Council's five members will provide input on security and privacy issues as the organization continues to develop industry-standard specifications that vendors base products on for computing and communications. The council is anticipated to meet as often as quarterly to review work in progress of the organization's work groups and to provide feedback to the organization about end-user issues related to security and privacy.

"Since TCG was announced 15 months ago, we have informally sought the input and feedback from a wide range of participants in the computing and security fields," said Jim Ward, president, TCG board of directors. "The TCG advisory council gives our more than 75 members another way to hear from well-regarded international experts about issues affecting the specifications and products and services based on those specifications."

Joining the council are Moira Gunn, Rob Enderle, David Farber, Gary Roboff and Rigo Wenning.

Moira Gunn, Ph.D., is president and CEO of The Tech Nation Group. She hosts National Public Radio's Tech Nation program, where she has interviewed tech leaders from the world's largest technology companies and those impacting technology. Gunn is a founding columnist of Knight-Ridder's SiliconValley.com and is a former NASA scientist and engineer. She was the first woman to earn a doctoral degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue University, where she has been named "Outstanding Mechanical Engineer" and serves on the Dean's Science Leadership Council. She is a member of the board of directors for the Tech Museum of Innovation, the advisory board of the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology, and the Tech Awards' Global Leadership Council.

Rob Enderle is president and principal analyst of Enderle Group, a forward-looking technology advisory firm that helps companies anticipate technology changes and select vendors and products. He has appeared on a number of television and radio programs and is often quoted in publications such as the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. He has extensive experience working with technology companies and their customers, including those in financial, automotive and other industries. He is known for his analysis of the Internet and personal technology markets.
David Farber, professor of telecommunications systems at the University of Pennsylvania, holds appointments in the departments of computer science and electrical engineering. He is the author of key programming languages and a principal in the creation and implementation of a number of critical computing protocols.

He also was instrumental in the creation of the Gigabit Network Testbed initiative. He has held positions at Bell Labs, the Rand Corp., Xerox Data Systems, UC Irvine and the University of Delaware. He is a member of the U.S. Presidential Advisory Committee of Information Technology and a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Farber also serves on the boards of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Internet Society.

With more than 25 years of experience in financial services planning and management, Gary Roboff has worked extensively in security issues related to financial services payments, Internet functionality and information management. He retired in 2000 as senior vice president of electronic commerce at Chase Manhattan Bank. As a member and later as a consultant for the Banking Industry Technology Secretariat (BITS) Advisory Council, he worked on new payments applications, electronification of payments, privacy and standards for emerging electronic commerce and payments applications. He is a founder of the International Security Trust and Privacy Alliance (ISTPA) and serves on the organization's board of directors, where he is vice president. He has extensive experience in industry efforts including E-Tran, the Electronic Funds Transfer Association (EFTA), and NYCE Corp. Roboff is vice chair of the board of trustees at Clark University where he chairs the board's committee on strategic and financial oversight.

At the W3C, Rigo Wenning is privacy activity lead and staff counsel. His responsibilities include P3P and rights management technologies and Web security. He organized a landmark workshop on rights management together with Renato Ianella in 2001. He is still involved in the standardization works on European electronic signatures. Wenning is a co-founder of FITUG, an Internet watchdog nongovernmental organization that is part of the Global Internet Liberty Campaign. Prior to joining W3C, Wenning worked as a scientific collaborator at the Saarland University Institute for Computing and Law.

TCG is an industry standards body formed to develop, define, and promote open standards for trusted computing and security technologies, including hardware building blocks and software interfaces, across multiple platforms, peripherals, and devices. TCG specifications are designed to enable more secure computing environments without compromising functional integrity with the primary goal of helping users to protect their information assets from compromise due to external software attack and physical theft.

More information and the organization's specifications are available at the Trusted Computing Group's Web site, www.trustedcomputinggroup.org.

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Trusted Computing Group Anne Price, 602-840-6495 Mobile: 602-330-6495 press@trustedcomputinggroup.org