Devastating to hear this. Ross corresponded regularly and was
tremendously encouraging. He made me feel like there was somebody else
out there who understood the gravity of the work we do.
Ross has been one of the precious few who understood my thoughts about
civic cybersecurity and how true national security is an ordinary
daily attitude. That every grandmother and schoolchild deserves basic
digital security, privacy and autonomy in their online life. That it
is all our responsibilities to step up to the task that Apple,
Google, Microsoft and our governments cannot handle alone unless we
lead the way.
My cybersecurity courses and indeed my own security thinking have been
profoundly shaped by his work. The idea of “Security Engineering” as a
serious, measurable, reproducible discipline lay in his hands.
Ross was never anything but generous with his time and honest with his
opinions.
His open publishing stance (to have complete copies of his older texts
online, which he skilfully negotiated with Wiley. is an example to
all academics.
His work leading the Cambridge team in doing interesting, socially
relevant security work in a world of so many dry, inaccessible papers
on cryptography and protocols was a refreshing beacon of light.
We planned to meet in Edinburgh one day and share some good single
malts. I feel lost at this news. Sincere wishes to all Ross’s family.
Dr. Andy Farnell