14 Facts About Phil Zimmermann

Philip R Zimmermann was born on 1954 and is an American computer scientist and cryptographer.

Phil Zimmermann is the creator of Pretty Good Privacy, the most widely used email encryption software in the world.

Phil Zimmermann is known for his work in VoIP encryption protocols, notably ZRTP and Zfone.

Shortly thereafter, it became available overseas via the Internet, though Phil Zimmermann has said he had no part in its distribution outside the United States.

In 1995, Phil Zimmermann published the book PGP Source Code and Internals as a way to bypass limitations on exporting digital code.

Phil Zimmermann's introduction says the book contains "all of the C source code to a software package called PGP" and that the unusual publication in book form of the complete source code for a computer program was a direct response to the US government's criminal investigation of Phil Zimmermann for violations of US export restrictions as a result of the international spread of PGP's use.

That company was acquired by Network Associates in December 1997, and Phil Zimmermann stayed on for three years as a Senior Fellow.

Phil Zimmermann served as a special advisor and consultant to that firm until Symantec acquired PGP Corporation in 2010.

Phil Zimmermann is a fellow at the Stanford Law School's Center for Internet and Society.

Phil Zimmermann was a principal designer of the cryptographic key agreement protocol for the Wireless USB standard.

Phil Zimmermann is involved in the social network Okuna, formerly Openbook, which aims to be an ethical and privacy-friendly alternative to existing social networks, especially Facebook.

Phil Zimmermann sees today's established social media platforms as a threat to democracy and privacy, because of their profit-oriented revenue models that "are all about exploiting our personal information" and "[deepen] the political divides in our culture", and Okuna as the solution to these problems.

Phil Zimmermann has received numerous technical and humanitarian awards for his pioneering work in cryptography:.

In 2022 Steven Johnson covered his story and achievements in Zimmermann's profile for Hidden Heroes - The Crypto Wars: How Philip Zimmermann Fought for Our Right to Privacy.