2024

Phil Zimmermann is the creator of Pretty Good Privacy (PGP), which has grown from its origins in 1991 as a human rights tool to become the most widely used email encryption software in the world. Since 2004, his focus has been on secure Internet telephony protocols. He is Co-founder of Silent Circle, a provider of secure telephony services.

Zimmermann has received numerous technical and humanitarian awards for his pioneering work in cryptography. In 2015 he received the US Privacy Champion Award from the Electronic Privacy Information Center. In 2014 he was inducted into the National Cyber Security Hall of Fame, and Foreign Policy Magazine named him one of the Leading Global Thinkers of 2014. In 2012 the Internet Society inducted him into the Inaugural Class of the Internet Hall of Fame. In 2008 PC World named him one of the Top 50 Tech Visionaries of the last 50 years. In 1999 he received the Louis Brandeis Award from Privacy International, in 1996 the Norbert Wiener Award from Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility for promoting the responsible use of technology. He also received the 1995 Chrysler Award for Innovation in Design, and the 1995 Pioneer Award from the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Zimmermann is Associate Professor Emeritus of cybersecurity at Delft University of Technology. He received an Honorary Doctorate from the Université Libre de Bruxelles in 2016. He served as Fellow at the Stanford Law School's Center for Internet and Society.