Revere Security Mourns the Death of Its Chief Cryptanalyst

DALLAS, Nov. 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Revere Security's Chief Cryptanalyst, Peter Schweitzer, passed away on October 13, 2011 after suffering a stroke. "Peter is a key pillar of our company," said Rick Stephenson, CEO and President of Revere Security. "Hummingbird evolved through his analysis and tutelage. The name itself was given to us by Peter. We deeply miss him and his wonderful innovations."

Peter Schweitzer began his cryptographic career at the Air Force Cambridge Research Center, working under Horst Feistel in the group that developed the foundations of modern symmetric encryption. He was responsible for both the startling demolition of a system on the verge of N.S.A. approval for Identification Friend or Foe and the invention of key scheduling techniques now used in both government and commercial cryptography. Schweitzer and Feistel did the first work on cryptographically-based authentication, which has become an essential pillar of communication-security architecture.

He was still working as a cryptographer up to his death. As Chief Cryptanalyst for Revere Security, he worked on cryptosystems for power-starved applications such as radio-frequency identification and critical infrastructure systems. Peter served simultaneously as Revere Security's Chief Cryptographer and as a member of Information Security Systems Inc. (ISSI), an invitation-only consulting group founded by NSA's legendary Jim Frazer. He specialized in devising attacks on ciphers that are impervious to mainstream methods.

Peter also worked as an independent information security consultant. In that role, his clients ranged from the Federal Reserve Bank through Lotus, RSA and McKinsey & Co. to a large number of start-up companies needing in-depth assessments of their novel cipher designs before proceeding. Prior to his consulting, he was recruited by Whitfield Diffie to join a small group that (under the aegis of Martin Hellman) conducted the first independent examination of the then-new DES cipher.

Resource Links
Revere Security: http://reveresecurity.com/peter_obit.php
Boston Globe: http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/obituaries/2011/11/17/peter-schweitzer-code-breaker-photographer-loved-music/xWSboUF6zSVDQ8FCS6xlKN/story.html
Orbits for Life: http://obitsforlife.com/obituary/414904/Schweitzer-Peter.php

About Revere Security
Revere Security is a privately owned company specializing in cryptographic data security solutions for small, power-constrained chips and devices. Revere Security's solutions rely on a remarkably simple, efficient and powerful algorithm co-developed by Revere Security Co-founder Eric Smith, Chief Cryptographer Whitfield Diffie and Chief Cryptanalyst Peter Schweitzer. The unique algorithm has been tested, analyzed and proven successful through rigorous study by former cryptanalysts from the National Security Agency. Revere Security safeguards solutions in embedded systems, RF communications, sensor technologies, mobile computing and more. The company is headquartered in Dallas. For more information on Revere Security, visit www.reveresecurity.com.

Contact:
Jason Stephenson
Revere Security
248.894.3025
[email protected]

SOURCE Revere Security