| Citation | Whitfield Diffie is unique among cryptographic researchers and among cryptographers in combining the methods of a mathematician, a historian, and an investigative reporter. In his study of cryptography to protect personal privacy, Diffie saw in the 1970s new cryptographic requirements in upcoming communication systems that were not reflected in any current cryptographic practice. In the process, he discovered the technologies we now call public-key cryptography and digital signatures, thus creating a public cryptographic community that has vastly expanded the field of cryptography. His insight has become ubiquitous in the Internet infrastructure as the keystone to secure worldwide electronic communications. |