Sarah Gordon is a

computer security Computer security (also cybersecurity, digital security, or information technology (IT) security) is a subdiscipline within the field of information security. It consists of the protection of computer software, systems and computer network, n ...

researcher, responsible for early scientific and academic work on

virus A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living Cell (biology), cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Viruses are ...

writers,

hacker A hacker is a person skilled in information technology who achieves goals and solves problems by non-standard means. The term has become associated in popular culture with a security hackersomeone with knowledge of bug (computing), bugs or exp ...

s, and social issues in computing. She was among the first computer scientists to propose a

multidisciplinary An academic discipline or academic field is a subdivision of knowledge that is taught and researched at the college or university level. Disciplines are defined (in part) and recognized by the academic journals in which research is published, ...

approach to computer security. Known primarily for work relating to people and computers, the bulk of her original technical work was published or presented between the late 1980s and mid-1990s. Two of the first "concept viruses" for

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

products were discovered by Gordon, refuting the common belief that it was impossible to contract a virus via

email Electronic mail (usually shortened to email; alternatively hyphenated e-mail) is a method of transmitting and receiving Digital media, digital messages using electronics, electronic devices over a computer network. It was conceived in the ...

and demonstrating the vulnerability of

Microsoft Word Microsoft Word is a word processor program, word processing program developed by Microsoft. It was first released on October 25, 1983, under the name Multi-Tool Word for Xenix systems. Subsequent versions were later written for several other platf ...

macro virus In computing terminology, a macro virus is a virus that is written in a macro language: a programming language which is embedded inside a software application (e.g., word processors and spreadsheet applications). Some applications, such as Micr ...

es in 1995. She also wrote the first report on

Linux Linux ( ) is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an kernel (operating system), operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically package manager, pac ...

viruses in the wild. She is known for inventing the term "vX" to refer to Virus Exchange. Gordon has always been fascinated with

linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

, and has introduced several other terms into the computer lexicon, including "trigger foot" and "meaningfulness". Dr. Gordon was appointed to the computer science graduate faculty of the

Florida Institute of Technology Florida Institute of Technology (Florida Tech or FIT) is a private research university in Melbourne, Florida. The university comprises four academic colleges: Engineering & Science, Aeronautics, Psychology & Liberal Arts, and Business. Approxim ...

in 2004. Although she has worked for several computer security companies, including Dr. Solomon's Software, Command Software,

IBM Research IBM Research is the research and development division for IBM, an American Multinational corporation, multinational information technology company. IBM Research is headquartered at the Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, New York ...

, and

Symantec Corporation Gen Digital Inc. (formerly Symantec Corporation and NortonLifeLock Inc.) is a multinational software company co-headquartered in both Prague, Czech Republic ( EU) and Tempe, Arizona ( USA). The company provides cybersecurity software and servi ...

, her work has continued to be primarily academic. Sarah Gordon is an alumnus of

Indiana University South Bend Indiana University South Bend (IU South Bend or IUSB) is a public university in South Bend, Indiana. It is the third largest and northernmost campus of Indiana University. History Indiana University began offering classes in South Bend in 1 ...

, where she obtained a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in 1997. She has a master's degree in Human Behaviour and Professional Counseling, and a Ph.D in Computer Science from

Middlesex University Middlesex University London (legally Middlesex University and abbreviated to MDX) is a public research university based in Hendon, northwest London, England. The university also has campuses in Dubai and Mauritius. The name of the university is ...

External links

Sarah Gordon's personal website

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Sarah Living people Computer security academics American computer scientists American women computer scientists Florida Institute of Technology faculty IBM Research computer scientists Gen Digital people Indiana University South Bend alumni Alumni of Middlesex University Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women academics 21st-century American academics 21st-century American scientists 21st-century American women scientists