Dan Geer

Dan Geer is a computer security analyst and risk management specialist. He is recognized for raising awareness of critical computer and network security issues before the risks were widely understood, and for ground-breaking work on the economics of security.

Daniel Earl Geer Jr.
Dan Geer, 2015
Citizenship	USA
Alma mater	Harvard University (SC.D. Biostatistics) MIT (SB EECS)
Known for	Project Athena Open Market CertCo
Scientific career
Fields	Computer Scientist
Institutions	MIT CertCo SystemExperts In-Q-Tel

Career

Geer is currently the chief information security officer for In-Q-Tel, a not-for-profit venture capital firm that invests in technology to support the Central Intelligence Agency.^[1]

In 2003, Geer's 24-page report entitled "CyberInsecurity: The Cost of Monopoly" was released by the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA). The paper argued that Microsoft's dominance of desktop computer operating systems is a threat to national security. Geer was fired (from consultancy @Stake) the day the report was made public.^[2] Geer has cited subsequent changes in the Vista operating system (notably a location-randomization feature) as evidence that Microsoft "accepted the paper."^[3]

Geer received a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT, where he was a member of the Theta Deuteron charge of Theta Delta Chi fraternity. He also received a Sc.D. in biostatistics from Harvard, and has worked for:^[4]

• Health Sciences Computing Facility, Harvard School of Public Health
• Project Athena, MIT
• Digital Equipment Corporation
• Geer Zolot & Associates
• OpenVision Technologies
• Open Market
• Certco
• @stake (acquired by Symantec in November 2004)
• Verdasys

In 2011, Geer received the USENIX Lifetime Achievement Award.^[5]