[Cryptography] 40 years of "Diffie-Hellman"

[Brian Gladman]

On 28/06/2016 00:10, Jon Callas wrote:
> 
>> On Jun 26, 2016, at 10:11 AM, Ray Dillinger <bear at sonic.net> wrote:
> 
> 
>> Maybe, but it's arguable whether it counts if he didn't publish.
>> The world at large didn't benefit from his invention of it, but
>> we all benefit from Diffie and Hellman's (re)invention of it. I
>> say credit where credit's due means give the credit to the guys
>> who did something that gives the world a benefit. It's not like
>> they stole it from him.
> 
> Hear, hear.
> 
> Invention credit and scholarly credit goes to to those who publish or at least publicize. That there were some GCHQ people who wrote some papers about "non-secret crypto" is interesting, but it's more interesting for the lost opportunity and as an object lessons for others. 

I give Ellis, Cocks and Williamson as individuals more credit than that
since they were prevented from publication by their employer GCCHQ who
was more interested in maintaining the insecurity of others rather than
in giving them a tool that was capable of moving in the other direction.
I am very confident that they would have given the world the benefit of
their work had they been allowed to.

   Brian Gladman