Otto Leiberich

Otto Leiberich (born December 5, 1927 in Crailsheim ; † June 23, 2015 ) was a German cryptologist , long-time employee of the Federal Intelligence Service and founding president of the Federal Office for Information Security.

Life

Leiberich received his doctorate in 1953 from the University of Cologne under Guido Hoheisel with a topic from algebra ( About systems of Jarden's sequences ). On the recommendation of Hoheisel, who himself worked as a cryptographer at OKW during the Second World War , he came to the newly established encryption office in 1953. In 1956, this became the Central Office for Encryption (ZfCh) of the Federal Intelligence Service (headed by Erich Hüttenhain ), which, among other things, provided the federal government with encrypted means of communication. From 1970 the ZfCh was a key player in the implementation of Operation Rubikon by the BND and the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). In this context , the ZfCh provided the Swiss Crypto AG with weakened encryption algorithms for exported encryption devices. The devices on the part of the BND were also deciphered by the ZfCh. From 1972, during the main phase of Operation Rubikon, the ZfCh was under the direction of Leiberich. In 1991 he was the founding president of the successor organization, the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) , which still exists today . At the end of 1992 he retired.

He also wrote a report on the history of cryptography in Germany, which was published by Spektrum der Wissenschaft .

Publications

Otto Leiberich: About systems of Jardenschen consequences . Cologne 1953, DNB 480415587 (University publication Cologne, Phil. F., dissertation of October 9, 1953).

Otto Leiberich: From diplomatic code to trapdoor function - a hundred years of cryptography in Germany . In: Spectrum of Science . No. 6 , June 1999, p. 26-34 ( Spektrum.de ).

literature

Hans Laux : Otto Leiberich, crypto mathematician and friend. Chapter 23 in trilogy of my life , Verlag Versicherungswirtschaft, Karlsruhe 2015, ISBN 978-3-89952-902-9 , pp. 128-136 ( books.google.de ).
Michael Hange : Obituary for Dr. Otto Leiberich. In: BSI magazine. 2015, pp. 42–43 ( bsi.bund.de PDF, with picture).

Web links

Portrait photo at Wiki-Commons
BSI annual report 2003, bsi.bund.de (PDF, image, p. 10) and bsi.bund.de (PDF, p. 16)

Individual evidence

^ Otto Leiberich: About systems of Jardenschen consequences . Cologne 1953, DNB 480415587 (University publication Cologne, Phil. F., dissertation of October 9, 1953).

^ Operation Rubicon. Retrieved March 18, 2020 .

↑ Otto Leiberich: From the diplomatic code to the trapdoor function. One hundred years of cryptography in Germany . In: Spectrum of Science. June 1999, p. 26, and Spektrum Dossier Cryptography, 2001.

personal data
SURNAME	Leiberich, Otto
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German cryptologist
DATE OF BIRTH	December 5, 1927
PLACE OF BIRTH	Crailsheim
DATE OF DEATH	23rd June 2015

[1] Otto Leiberich: About systems of Jardenschen consequences . Cologne 1953, DNB 480415587 (University publication Cologne, Phil. F., dissertation of October 9, 1953).

[2] Operation Rubicon. Retrieved March 18, 2020 .

[3] Otto Leiberich: From the diplomatic code to the trapdoor function. One hundred years of cryptography in Germany . In: Spectrum of Science. June 1999, p. 26, and Spektrum Dossier Cryptography, 2001.