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Steve R. White


Curriculum Vitae - December, 2000
Professional Experience
 
1994 - Present IBM Watson Research Center,
Yorktown Heights, NY
Senior Manager, Massively Distributed Systems
  • Created a long-term research project to examine the implications of billions of economically motivated software agents interacting as part of a global digital economy. Results to date include the discovery of endemic price wars and other undesirable behaviors, which can be mitigated by giving the agents the ability to learn from their actions; a prototype environment for economic agents that is fundamentally decentralized and distributed; and work within the FIPA standards organization to standardize agent communications.
  • Turned IBM AntiVirus into a multi-million dollar business, doubling revenue every year for several years. IBM AntiVirus was licensed to millions of computers worldwide, making it one of the most widely licensed IBM products ever.
  • Responsible for IBM AntiVirus R&D management, a peer business executive position alongside Marketing and Sales. Grew R&D staff to 50 people, including a number of world-renowned scientists and technologists.
  • Led technical negotiations to license our anti-virus technology to Intel and Symantec, resulting in multi-million dollar deals for IBM. 
  • Led anti-virus R&D for incorporation of our immune system technology into Symantec products, which shipped in 4Q 2000. The immune system is a completely automated response to new viruses, capable of deriving and distributing a cure for a new virus in a matter of minutes after its first appearance anywhere in the world. This is all done automatically and is both faster and safer than the corresponding manual processes. Our immune system technology has become Symantec’s new corporate direction.
1988 – 1994 IBM Watson Research Center,
Yorktown Heights, NY
Manager, Distributed Security Systems
  • Performed the first research into the epidemiology of computer viruses, predicting that the problem would become much worse as the world moved onto the Internet.
  • Led the development of anti-virus technology designed to meet the growing threat, including a unique immune system for the Internet.
  • Created the IBM AntiVirus product line on Windows, Netware, DOS and OS/2, and made it into an entrepreneurial business inside IBM.
1984 – 1988 IBM Watson Research Center,
Yorktown Heights, NY
Research Staff Member
  • Invented architecture for physically secure cryptographic coprocessors and applied it to protecting rights to use digital media.
  • Led the development of successful prototypes based on this architecture, resulting in the Integrated Cryptographic Feature for IBM System 390 and the IBM 4758 Cryptographic Coprocessor, the first systems rated at Security Level 4 (the highest) of the FIPS 140-1 standard.
1982 - 1984 IBM Watson Research Center,
Yorktown Heights, NY
Postdoctoral Fellow
  • Created a physics-based analysis of the simulated annealing optimization algorithm, providing the first method for adapting the algorithm to a wide range of problems.

Education
 
1982 University of California, San Diego, CA
Ph.D. Theoretical Condensed Matter Physics
  • Thesis: “Electronic Structure of Semiconductor Heterostructures”
  • Advisor: Lu J. Sham

Awards
 
1996 IBM Corporate Technical Award for IBM AntiVirus Technology and System Design. This is the highest technical award given in IBM and is given each year only to a handful of people.
1996 Elected a member of the IBM Academy of Technology, an elite group that advises senior executives on technology issues.
1995 IBM Outstanding Technical Achievement Award for IBM AntiVirus Products.
1987 IBM Outstanding Technical Achievement Award for Enhancements to Simulated Annealing.
1986 IBM Outstanding Innovation Award for ABYSS – A Basic Yorktown Security System.

Media Highlights

Coverage of my work, along with interviews, have appeared regularly in the major media: Forbes, NBC, ABC, CNBC, CCNfn, Bloomberg TV, NPR; Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, San Jose Mercury-News, Times (London), Financial Times (London), Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Philadelphia Inquirer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Nikkei Shinbun (Tokyo); and various Web sites. Other selected highlights include:

  • Time Magazine (August, 2000) “The New Hot Zone”, pp. 30-37. And (Nov. 11, 1996) “The Next Big Thing: Curing Digital Disease”, pp. TD 49, Two Cover Articles.
  • Science News (July 31, 1999) “Do Computers Need Immune Systems?”, pp. 76-78. Cover Article.
  • Atlantic Monthly (April 1999) “The Virus Wars”, pp.32-37. Cover Article.
  • US News & World Report (April 12, 1999) “Why Melissa Is So Scary”, pp. 34-36.
  • New Scientist (24 May 1997)  “The Internet Strikes Back”, pp. 35-37. Cover Article.

Patents

The following is a list of my issued U.S. patents. Several more of my patent applications are currently pending.

  • U.S. Patent 05907834 (5/25/99): “Method and apparatus for detecting a presence of a computer virus”
  • U.S. Patent 05802592 (9/01/98): “System and method for protecting integrity of alterable ROM using digital signatures”
  • U.S. Patent 05675711 (10/07/97): “Adaptive statistical regression and classification of data strings, with application to the generic detection of computer viruses” This patent received an IBM top 5% patent award as one of the most valuable patents in IBM’s portfolio.
  • U.S. Patent 05440723 (8/08/95): “Automatic immune system for computers and computer networks” This patent was the focus of a major IBM ad campaign, including a full-page ad in the New York Times, in which IBM proclaimed five straight years of being first in the number of US patents issued. The immune system was chosen as the sole example of innovative IBM technology.
  • U.S. Patent 05442699 (8/15/95): “Searching for patterns in encrypted data”
  • U.S. Patent 05117457 (5/26/92): “Tamper resistant packaging for information protection in electronic circuitry”
  • U.S. Patent 05109413 (4/28/92): “Manipulating rights-to-execute in connection with a software copy protection mechanism”
  • U.S. Patent 04924515 (5/08/90): “Secure management of keys using extended control vectors”
  • U.S. Patent 04916738 (4/10/90): “Remote access terminal security”
  • U.S. Patent 04903296 (2/20/90): “Implementing a shared higher level of privilege on personal computers for copy protection of software”
  • U.S. Patent 04817140 (3/28/89): “Software protection system using a single-key cryptosystem, a hardware-based authorization system and a secure coprocessor”
  • U.S. Patent 04644493 (2/17/87): “Implementing a shared higher level of privilege on personal computers for copy protection of software”
  • U.S. Patent 04577289 (3/18/86): “Hardware key-on-disk system for copy-protecting magnetic storage media”

Recent Presentations and Publications

  • Steve R. White, “Virus Bulletin 2010: A Retrospective”, International Virus Bulletin Conference, Orlando, FL (Oct. 4-6, 2000). This Invited Keynote Talk projected the virus problem, and anti-virus technology, ten years into the future.
  • David M. Chess, Steve R. White, "An Undectable Computer Virus", International Virus Bulletin Conference, Orlando, FL (Oct. 4-6, 2000).
  • Steve R. White, Morton Swimmer, Edward J. Pring, William C. Arnold, David M. Chess, John F. Morar, “Anatomy of a Commercial-Grade Immune System”, International Virus Bulletin Conference, Vancouver, Canada (Sept. 28-30, 1999). This was the first live, public demonstration of the product-ready version of the immune system. 
  • Jeffrey O. Kephart, Gregory B. Sorkin, William C. Arnold, David M. Chess, Gerald J. Tesauro, Steve R. White, “Biologically Inspired Defenses Against Computer Viruses”, Book Chapter in Machine Learning and Data Mining: Methods and Applications, R.S. Michalski (ed.), John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., ISBN: 0471971995 (1998)
  • Jeffrey O. Kephart, Gregory B. Sorkin, Morton Swimmer, Steve R. White, “Blueprint for a Computer Immune System”, Book Chapter in Artificial Immune Systems and Their Applications by D. Dasgupta (ed.), Springer-Verlag, ISBN 3540643907 (1998)
  • Steve R. White, Jeffrey O. Kephart, John Morar, “Active Planet”, Demo 98, Palm Springs, CA (Feb. 1-3, 1998). This was one of only two Invited Talks and Demos on forward-looking technology. We gave a live demonstration of our immune system prototype.
  • Steve R. White, "Open Problems in Computer Virus Research," International Virus Bulletin Conference, Munich, Germany (Oct. 22-23, 1998).
  • Steve R. White, Jeffrey O. Kephart, David M. Chess, "Five Great Ages of Computer Viruses," International Virus Prevention Conference, Orlando, FL (April 28-29, 1998).
  • Jeffrey O. Kephart, James E. Hanson, David W. Levine, Benjamin N. Grosof, Jakka Sairamesh, Richard B. Segal, Steve R. White, "Dynamics of an Information-Filtering Economy”, Second International Workshop on Cooperative Information Agents, Paris, France (July 4-7, 1998).
  • Jeffrey O. Kephart, James E. Hanson, David W. Levine, Benjamin N. Grosof, Jakka Sairamesh, Richard B. Segal, Steve R. White, "Emergent Behavior in Information Economies”, International Conference on Multi-Agent Systems (ICMAS '98), Paris, France, (July 3-8, 1998).
  • Jeffrey O. Kephart, Gregory B. Sorkin, David M. Chess, Steve R. White, “Fighting Computer Viruses”, Scientific American, (Nov. 1997), pp. 88-93. Invited cover article.
  •  Steve R. White, David M. Chess, Jeffrey O. Kephart, "Five Great Ages of Computer Viruses," Symposium on the Future of Distributed Information Systems, Aspen, CO (June, 1997). Invited Talk.
  • Jeffrey O. Kephart, Gregory B. Sorkin, Morton Swimmer, Steve R. White, "Blueprint for a Computer Immune System”, International Virus Bulletin Conference, San Francisco, CA (Oct. 1997). This was the first live, public demonstration of our immune system prototype.
  • Steve R. White, David M. Chess, Jeffrey O. Kephart, "Five Great Ages of Computer Viruses," International Virus Bulletin Conference, San Francisco, CA (Oct. 1997)
  • Steve R. White, David M. Chess, Jeffrey O. Kephart, “Five Great Ages of Computer Viruses”, International Virus Prevention Conference, Washington DC (1997).
  • Steve R. White, Jeffrey O. Kephart, David M. Chess, “Computer Viruses - A Global Perspective,” International Virus Bulletin Conference, Boston, MA (1995). Invited Talk.
  • Jeffrey O. Kephart, William C. Arnold, David M. Chess, Gerald J. Tesauro, Steve R. White, “Biologically Inspired Defenses Against Computer Viruses”, International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Montreal, Canada (1995). Invited Talk.
  • Steve R. White, “Computer Viruses - A Global View”, International Virus Bulletin Conference, Jersey, UK (1994). Invited Keynote Talk.
  • Steve R. White, “Computer Virus Prevalence”, Conference of the National Computer Security Association, Washington, D.C. Invited Talk.
  • Steve R. White, “Viruses and Anti-Virus Technology: A Vision of the Future”, International Virus Bulletin Conference, Amsterdam, the Netherlands (1993). Invited Talk.
  • Steve R. White, “Virus Trends in Distributed Environments”, Conference of the International Society of Security Auditors, New York, NY (1993). Invited Talk.
  • Jeffrey O. Kephart, Steve R. White, David M. Chess, “Computer Viruses and Epidemiology”, IEEE Spectrum magazine (May 1993) pp. 20-26. Cover Article.  
  • Jeffrey O. Kephart, Steve R. White, “Measuring and Modeling Computer Virus Prevalence”, Proceedings IEEE Symposium on Research in Security and Privacy, Oakland, CA (1993), pp. 2-15.
Top Stuff

© 2000 Steve R. White, All Rights Reserved