computer science

Peter Gutmann (computer scientist)

Peter Gutmann (computer scientist) is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Peter Gutmann (computer scientist) rather than just read about it. In short: Peter Claus Gutmann is a computer scientist in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand. He has a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Auckland.

Key takeaways

Peter Gutmann (computer scientist) belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Peter Gutmann (computer scientist) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Peter Gutmann (computer scientist) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Peter Claus Gutmann is a computer scientist in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand. He has a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Auckland. His Ph.D. thesis and a book based on the thesis were about a cryptographic security architecture. He is interested in computer security issues, including security architecture, security usability (or more usually the lack thereof), and hardware security; he has discovered several flaws in publicly released cryptosystems and protocols. Gutmann is the developer of the cryptlib open source software security library and contributed to PGP version 2. In 1994 he developed the Secure FileSystem (SFS). He is also known for his analysis of data deletion on electronic memory media, magnetic and otherwise, and devised the Gutmann method for erasing data from a hard drive more or less securely. His 35-pass data overwriting method is based on a misunderstanding of how hard drives work and the encoding methods they use. These analyses have gained great popularity, although being based on early-90s magnetic recording technology which goes back to the 1970s or even earlier are no longer relevant today. Having lived in New Zealand for some time, he has written on such subjects as weta (a group of insects endemic to New Zealand), and the Auckland power crisis of 1998, during which the electrical power system failed completely in the central city for five weeks, which he has blogged about. He has also written on his career as an "arms courier" for New Zealand, detailing the difficulties faced in complying with customs control regulations with respect to cryptographic products, which were once classed as "munitions" by various jurisdictions including the United States.

Criticism of Windows Vista

His white paper "Cost Analysis of Windows Vista Content Protection", in which he described the content protection specification as "the longest suicide note in history", generated considerable public interest since it was first posted in 2006. He discussed this with Steve Gibson in episode #74 of the Security Now! podcast on 2007-01-11.

See also Criticism of Windows Vista Data privacy Gutmann method Information privacy Plaintext

Bibliography RFC 7366 – "Encrypt-then-MAC for Transport Layer Security (TLS) and Datagram Transport Layer Security (DTLS)," Proposed Standard. Gutmann, Peter (2014). Engineering Security (Book Draft April 2014) (PDF). Peter Gutmann, Book Draft published online. Gutmann, Peter (2003). Cryptographic Security Architecture: Design and Verification. Springer-Verlag. doi:10.1007/b97264. ISBN 0-387-95387-6. S2CID 27659379. Gutmann, Peter (2000). The Design and Verification of a Cryptographic Security Architecture (PhD). University of Auckland. hdl:2292/2310.

References

Further reading Gutmann, Peter (1996). "Secure Deletion of Data from Magnetic and Solid-State Memory". 6th Usenix Security Symposium Proceedings. 6th USENIX Security Symposium. USENIX. pp. 77–90. ISBN 1-880446-79-0. Retrieved 2019-08-12. "Vista copy protection is defended". Technology. BBC. January 22, 2007. Retrieved 2019-08-12. The Macalope (January 24, 2008). "Ou, not again!". Culture. CNET. Retrieved 2019-08-12.

External links Official website Auckland: Your Y2K beta test site

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Peter Gutmann (computer scientist)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Peter Gutmann (computer scientist) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Peter Gutmann (computer scientist) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Peter Gutmann (computer scientist) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Peter Gutmann (computer scientist)

In research: Peter Gutmann (computer scientist) appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Peter Gutmann (computer scientist) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Peter Gutmann (computer scientist) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Computer security academics, Cypherpunks, Living people, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Peter Gutmann (computer scientist) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Peter Gutmann (computer scientist) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Peter Gutmann (computer scientist) means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
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Frequently asked questions

What is Peter Gutmann (computer scientist) in simple terms?

Why does Peter Gutmann (computer scientist) matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Peter Gutmann (computer scientist)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Peter Gutmann (computer scientist).