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{{Short description|American programmer and cryptographer (1932 -2011)}}
{{other people||Robert Morris (disambiguation){{!}}Robert Morris}}
{{other people||Robert Morris (disambiguation){{!}}Robert Morris}}
{{Infobox scientist
{{Infobox scientist
| name = Robert Morris
| name = Robert H. Morris Sr.
| image = <!--(filename only)-->
| image = <!--(filename only)-->
| image_size =
| image_size =
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| citizenship =
| citizenship =
| nationality =
| nationality =
| fields = [[cryptography]]
| fields = [[Mathematics]], [[cryptography]]
| workplaces =[[National Security Agency]], [[Bell Labs]]<ref name=NYTobit/>
| workplaces = [[National Security Agency]], [[Bell Labs]]<ref name=NYTobit/>
| alma_mater = [[Harvard University]]<ref name=NYTobit/>
| alma_mater = [[Harvard University]]<ref name=NYTobit/>
| doctoral_advisor =
| doctoral_advisor =
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| doctoral_students =
| doctoral_students =
| notable_students =
| notable_students =
| known_for =
| known_for = [[Multics]], [[Unix]]
| author_abbrev_bot =
| author_abbrev_bot =
| author_abbrev_zoo =
| author_abbrev_zoo =
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| footnotes =
| footnotes =
| spouse = Anne Farlow Morris
| spouse = Anne Farlow Morris
| children = [[Robert Tappan Morris]], Meredith Morris, Benjamin Morris
| children = [[Robert Tappan Morris]], Meredith Morris, Benjamin Morris
}}
}}


'''Robert Morris''' (July 25, 1932 – June 26, 2011) was an [[United States|American]] [[cryptographer]] and [[Computer science|computer scientist]].<ref name=NYTobit>{{cite news
'''Robert H. Morris Sr.''' (July 25, 1932 – June 26, 2011) was an American [[cryptographer]] and [[computer scientist]].<ref name=NYTobit>{{cite news
| title = Robert Morris, Pioneer in Computer Security, Dies at 78
| title = Robert Morris, Pioneer in Computer Security, Dies at 78
|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/30/technology/30morris.html?_r=1&hpw
|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/30/technology/30morris.html?_r=1&hpw
|last=Markoff
|last=Markoff
|first=John
|first=John
|authorlink=John Markoff
|author-link=John Markoff
|date=29 June 2011
|date=29 June 2011
|work=[[New York Times]]
|work=[[The New York Times]]
|accessdate=30 June 2011}}</ref>
|access-date=30 June 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite conference
|url=https://www.usenix.org/legacy/publications/library/proceedings/sec4/index.html
|title=4th UNIX Security Symposium
|year=1993
|publisher=[[USENIX]]
}}</ref>
__TOC__
__TOC__


==Family and education==
==Family and education==
Morris was born in [[Boston, Massachusetts]]. His parents were Walter W. Morris, a salesman, and Helen Kelly Morris.<ref name=NYTobit/> He received a [[bachelor's degree]] in [[mathematics]] from [[Harvard University]] in 1957 and a [[master's degree]] in [[applied mathematics]] from Harvard in 1958.
Morris was born in [[Boston, Massachusetts]]. His parents were Walter W. Morris, a salesman, and Helen Kelly Morris, a homemaker.<ref name=NYTobit/> He received a [[bachelor's degree]] in [[mathematics]] from [[Harvard University]] in 1957 and a [[master's degree]] in [[applied mathematics]] from Harvard in 1958.


He married Anne Farlow, and they had three children together: [[Robert Tappan Morris]], author of the 1988 [[Morris (computer worm)|Morris Worm]],<ref name=usvmorris505>{{cite court |litigants=United States v. Morris (1991) |vol=928 |reporter=F.2d |opinion=504 |pinpoint=505 |court=2d Cir. |date=1991 |url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=551386241451639668}}</ref> Meredith Morris, and Benjamin Morris.<ref>[http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2011-06-30/local/35266136_1_robert-morris-unix-computer-computer-knowledge Robert Morris obituary], [[The Washington Post]], June 30, 2011.</ref>
He married Anne Farlow, and they had three children together: [[Robert Tappan Morris]] (author of the 1988 [[Morris worm]]),<ref name=usvmorris505>{{cite court |litigants=United States v. Morris (1991) |vol=928 |reporter=F.2d |opinion=504 |pinpoint=505 |court=2d Cir. |date=1991 |url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=551386241451639668}}</ref> Meredith Morris, and Benjamin Morris.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20131012054103/http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2011-06-30/local/35266136_1_robert-morris-unix-computer-computer-knowledge Robert Morris obituary], ''[[The Washington Post]]'', June 30, 2011.</ref>


==Bell Labs==
==Bell Labs==
From 1960 until 1986, Morris was a researcher at [[Bell Labs]] and worked on [[Multics]] and later [[Unix]].
⚫
From 1960 until 1986, Morris was a researcher at [[Bell Labs]] and worked on [[Multics]] and later [[Unix]]. Morris's contributions to [[Research Unix|early versions of Unix]] include the math library, the [[bc programming language]], the program [[crypt (Unix)|<code>crypt</code>]], and the password encryption scheme used for user authentication.<ref name="reader">{{cite techreport |first1=M. D. |last1=McIlroy |authorlink1=Doug McIlroy |year=1987 |url=http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~doug/reader.pdf |title=A Research Unix reader: annotated excerpts from the Programmer's Manual, 1971–1986 |series=CSTR |number=139 |institution=Bell Labs}}</ref><ref>[http://postbiota.org/pipermail/info/2014-December/007875.html Dabbling in the Cryptographic World--A Story], [[Dennis Ritchie]], May 5, 2000, Bell Labs. Accessed on line November 29, 2007.</ref> The encryption scheme (invented by [[Roger Needham]]), was based on using a [[trapdoor function]] (now called a [[key derivation function]]) to compute hashes of user [[password]]s which were stored in the file <code>/etc/passwd</code>; analogous techniques, relying on different functions, are still in use today.<ref>[http://cm.bell-labs.com/cm/cs/who/dmr/passwd.ps ''Password Security: A Case History'' by Robert Morris and Ken Thompson (1978)]</ref>

Together with [[Douglas McIlroy]], he created M6 [[general-purpose macro processor|macro processor]] in [[FORTRAN IV]], which was later ported to Unix.<ref>{{cite book |last=Cole |first=A. J. |author-link=Jack Cole (scientist) |title=Macro Processors |edition=2nd, revised |year=1981 |publisher=CUP Archive |pages=254}}</ref>

Using the [[TMG (language)|TMG]] compiler-compiler, Morris, together with McIlroy, developed the early implementation of [[PL/I]] compiler called EPL for Multics project.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.multicians.org/pl1-raf.html|title=The Multics PL/1 Compiler|author=R. A. Frieburghouse|website=Multicians.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |editor=Tom Van Vleck |editor-link=Tom Van Vleck |url=https://multicians.org/pl1.html#EPL |title=The Choice of PL/I |website=Multicians.org}}</ref> The pair also contributed a version of [[TYPSET and RUNOFF|runoff]] text-formatting program for Multics.<ref>{{cite web |title=Multics Features |url=ftp://ftp.stratus.com/pub/pub/vos/multics/tvv/features.html}}</ref>

⚫
Morris's contributions to [[Research Unix|early versions of Unix]] include the math library, the [[dc programming language]], the program [[crypt (Unix)|<code>crypt</code>]], and the password encryption scheme used for user authentication.<ref name="reader">{{cite tech report |first1=M. D. |last1=McIlroy |authorlink1=Doug McIlroy |year=1987 |url=http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~doug/reader.pdf |title=A Research Unix reader: annotated excerpts from the Programmer's Manual, 1971–1986 |series=CSTR |number=139 |institution=Bell Labs}}</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20150205025156/http://cm.bell-labs.com/cm/cs/who/dmr/crypt.html Dabbling in the Cryptographic World--A Story], [[Dennis Ritchie]], May 5, 2000, Bell Labs. Archived.</ref> The encryption scheme (invented by [[Roger Needham]]), was based on using a [[trapdoor function]] (now called a [[key derivation function]]) to compute hashes of user [[password]]s which were stored in the file <code>[[/etc/passwd]]</code>; analogous techniques, relying on different functions, are still in use today.<ref>[https://www.bell-labs.com/usr/dmr/www/passwd.ps ''Password Security: A Case History'' by Robert Morris and Ken Thompson (1978)]</ref>


==National Security Agency==
==National Security Agency==
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There is a description of Morris in [[Clifford Stoll]]'s book ''[[The Cuckoo's Egg]]''.
There is a description of Morris in [[Clifford Stoll]]'s book ''[[The Cuckoo's Egg]]''.
Many readers of Stoll's book remember Morris for giving Stoll a challenging mathematical [[puzzle]] (originally due to [[John H. Conway]]) in the course of their discussions on [[computer security]]: ''What is the next number in the sequence 1 11 21 1211 111221?'' (known as the [[look-and-say sequence]]). Stoll chose not to include the answer to this puzzle in ''The Cuckoo's Egg'', to the frustration of many readers.<ref>[http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~stoll/number_sequence.html FAQ about Morris Number Sequence<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
Many readers of Stoll's book remember Morris for giving Stoll a challenging mathematical [[puzzle]] (originally due to [[John H. Conway]]) in the course of their discussions on [[computer security]]: ''What is the next number in the sequence 1 11 21 1211 111221?'' (known as the [[look-and-say sequence]]). Stoll chose not to include the answer to this puzzle in ''The Cuckoo's Egg'', to the frustration of many readers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~stoll/number_sequence.html |title=FAQ about Morris Number Sequence |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970606112402/http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~stoll/number_sequence.html |archive-date=June 6, 1997}}</ref>


Robert Morris died in [[Lebanon, New Hampshire]].
Robert Morris died in [[Lebanon, New Hampshire]].
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==Quotes==
==Quotes==
{{Copy to Wikiquote|section=yes}}
{{Copy to Wikiquote|section=yes}}
* Rule 1 of cryptanalysis: check for plaintext.<ref name="Crypto95">{{cite web|url=https://groups.google.com/g/sci.crypt/c/8aFmhI8PaRw/m/bwyHfMA2vGMJ|title=Notes on Crypto '95: Non-cryptographic Ways of Losing Information invited talk by R. Morris|last=Gillogly|first=Jim|date=2 September 1995|website=Google Groups|accessdate=2 August 2023}}</ref>
* Never underestimate the attention, risk, money and time that an opponent will put into reading traffic.
* Never underestimate the attention, risk, money, and time that an opponent will put into reading traffic.<ref name="Crypto95" />
* Rule 1 of cryptanalysis: check for [[plaintext]].<ref>[http://www.ieee-security.org/Cipher/ConfReports/conf-rep-Crypto95.html "Notes on Crypto '95 invited talks by R. Morris and A. Shamir" by Jim Gillogly and Paul Syverson]</ref>
* It is easy to run a secure computer system. You merely have to disconnect all dial-up connections and permit only direct-wired terminals, put the machine and its terminals in a shielded room, and post a guard at the door.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Grampp|first1=F. T.|last2=Morris|first2=R. H.|year=1984|title=The UNIX System: UNIX Operating System Security|journal=AT&T Bell Laboratories Technical Journal|volume=63 |issue=8 |pages=1649–1672 |doi=10.1002/j.1538-7305.1984.tb00058.x|s2cid=26877484 }}</ref>
* The three golden rules to ensure computer security are: do not own a computer; do not power it on; and do not use it.<ref>p. 1, ''Inside Java 2 Platform Security: Architecture, API Design, and Implementation'', Li Gong, Gary Ellison, and Mary Dageforde, Boston: Addison-Wesley, 2003, 2nd ed., ISBN 0-201-78791-1.</ref>


==Selected publications==
==Selected publications==
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==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==
* [[Dennis Ritchie]]: [https://www.bell-labs.com/usr/dmr/www/crypt.html "Dabbling in the Cryptographic World"] tells the story of cryptographic research he performed with Morris and why that research was never published.
* [[Dennis Ritchie]]: [https://www.bell-labs.com/usr/dmr/www/crypt.html "Dabbling in the Cryptographic World"] tells the story of cryptographic research he performed with Morris and why that research was never published.

{{Multics}}


{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}
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[[Category:2011 deaths]]
[[Category:2011 deaths]]
[[Category:Scientists at Bell Labs]]
[[Category:Scientists at Bell Labs]]
[[Category:People associated with computer security]]
[[Category:Computer security academics]]
[[Category:Harvard University alumni]]
[[Category:Harvard University alumni]]
[[Category:National Security Agency cryptographers]]
[[Category:National Security Agency cryptographers]]
[[Category:People from Boston]]
[[Category:People from Boston]]
[[Category:Multics people]]
[[Category:Unix people]]

Latest revision as of 16:20, 14 May 2024

For other people with the same name, see Robert Morris.
Robert H. Morris Sr.
Born(1932-07-25)July 25, 1932[1]
Boston, Massachusetts
DiedJune 26, 2011(2011-06-26) (aged 78)[1]
Lebanon, New Hampshire[1]
Alma materHarvard University[1]
Known forMultics, Unix
SpouseAnne Farlow Morris
ChildrenRobert Tappan Morris, Meredith Morris, Benjamin Morris
Scientific career
FieldsMathematics, cryptography
InstitutionsNational Security Agency, Bell Labs[1]

Robert H. Morris Sr. (July 25, 1932 – June 26, 2011) was an American cryptographer and computer scientist.[1][2]

Family and education[edit]

Morris was born in Boston, Massachusetts. His parents were Walter W. Morris, a salesman, and Helen Kelly Morris, a homemaker.[1] He received a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Harvard University in 1957 and a master's degree in applied mathematics from Harvard in 1958.

He married Anne Farlow, and they had three children together: Robert Tappan Morris (author of the 1988 Morris worm),[3] Meredith Morris, and Benjamin Morris.[4]

Bell Labs[edit]

From 1960 until 1986, Morris was a researcher at Bell Labs and worked on Multics and later Unix.

Together with Douglas McIlroy, he created M6 macro processor in FORTRAN IV, which was later ported to Unix.[5]

Using the TMG compiler-compiler, Morris, together with McIlroy, developed the early implementation of PL/I compiler called EPL for Multics project.[6][7] The pair also contributed a version of runoff text-formatting program for Multics.[8]

Morris's contributions to early versions of Unix include the math library, the dc programming language, the program crypt, and the password encryption scheme used for user authentication.[9][10] The encryption scheme (invented by Roger Needham), was based on using a trapdoor function (now called a key derivation function) to compute hashes of user passwords which were stored in the file /etc/passwd; analogous techniques, relying on different functions, are still in use today.[11]

National Security Agency[edit]

In 1986, Morris began work at the National Security Agency (NSA).[1] He served as chief scientist of the NSA's National Computer Security Center, where he was involved in the production of the Rainbow Series of computer security standards, and retired from the NSA in 1994.[12][13][14] He once told a reporter that, while at the NSA, he helped the FBI decode encrypted evidence.[1]

There is a description of Morris in Clifford Stoll's book The Cuckoo's Egg. Many readers of Stoll's book remember Morris for giving Stoll a challenging mathematical puzzle (originally due to John H. Conway) in the course of their discussions on computer security: What is the next number in the sequence 1 11 21 1211 111221? (known as the look-and-say sequence). Stoll chose not to include the answer to this puzzle in The Cuckoo's Egg, to the frustration of many readers.[15]

Robert Morris died in Lebanon, New Hampshire.

Quotes[edit]

  • Rule 1 of cryptanalysis: check for plaintext.[16]
  • Never underestimate the attention, risk, money, and time that an opponent will put into reading traffic.[16]
  • It is easy to run a secure computer system. You merely have to disconnect all dial-up connections and permit only direct-wired terminals, put the machine and its terminals in a shielded room, and post a guard at the door.[17]

Selected publications[edit]

  • (with Fred T. Grampp) UNIX Operating System Security, AT&T Bell Laboratories Technical Journal, 63, part 2, #8 (October 1984), pp. 1649–1672.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Markoff, John (29 June 2011). "Robert Morris, Pioneer in Computer Security, Dies at 78". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 June 2011.
  2. ^ 4th UNIX Security Symposium. USENIX. 1993.
  3. ^ United States v. Morris (1991), 928 F.2d 504, 505 (2d Cir. 1991).
  4. ^ Robert Morris obituary, The Washington Post, June 30, 2011.
  5. ^ Cole, A. J. (1981). Macro Processors (2nd, revised ed.). CUP Archive. p. 254.
  6. ^ R. A. Frieburghouse. "The Multics PL/1 Compiler". Multicians.org.
  7. ^ Tom Van Vleck (ed.). "The Choice of PL/I". Multicians.org.
  8. ^ "Multics Features".
  9. ^ McIlroy, M. D. (1987). A Research Unix reader: annotated excerpts from the Programmer's Manual, 1971–1986 (PDF) (Technical report). CSTR. Bell Labs. 139.
  10. ^ Dabbling in the Cryptographic World--A Story, Dennis Ritchie, May 5, 2000, Bell Labs. Archived.
  11. ^ Password Security: A Case History by Robert Morris and Ken Thompson (1978)
  12. ^ The data encryption standard—Retrospective and prospects, R. Morris, IEEE Communications 16, #6 (November 1978), pp. 11–14.
  13. ^ IEEE Electronic CIPHER 9 (1995-09-18)
  14. ^ AUUG 98 Conference Information and Registration Form, accessed on line November 29, 2007.
  15. ^ "FAQ about Morris Number Sequence". Archived from the original on June 6, 1997.
  16. ^ a b Gillogly, Jim (2 September 1995). "Notes on Crypto '95: Non-cryptographic Ways of Losing Information invited talk by R. Morris". Google Groups. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  17. ^ Grampp, F. T.; Morris, R. H. (1984). "The UNIX System: UNIX Operating System Security". AT&T Bell Laboratories Technical Journal. 63 (8): 1649–1672. doi:10.1002/j.1538-7305.1984.tb00058.x. S2CID 26877484.

External links[edit]

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