Tsutomu Shimomura
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is a Japanese-born
physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...
and
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 ...
expert. He is known for helping the
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
track and arrest
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 ...
Kevin Mitnick Kevin David Mitnick (August 6, 1963 – July 16, 2023) was an American computer security consultant, author, and convicted hacker. In 1995, he was arrested for various computer and communications-related crimes, and spent five years in prison ...
. ''Takedown'', his 1996 book on the subject with
journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...
John Markoff, was later adapted for the screen in '' Track Down'' in 2000. Shimomura was a founder of semiconductor company Neofocal Systems, and was CEO and CTO until 2016.


Biography

Born in Japan, Shimomura is the son of Osamu Shimomura, winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He grew up in
Princeton, New Jersey The Municipality of Princeton is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey, Borough of Princeton and Pri ...
, and attended Princeton High School. At
Caltech The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private university, private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small g ...
he studied under Nobel laureate
Richard Feynman Richard Phillips Feynman (; May 11, 1918 – February 15, 1988) was an American theoretical physicist. He is best known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics, the physics of t ...
. After Caltech, he went on to work at
Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos National Laboratory (often shortened as Los Alamos and LANL) is one of the sixteen research and development Laboratory, laboratories of the United States Department of Energy National Laboratories, United States Department of Energy ...
, where he continued his hands-on education in the position of staff physicist with Brosl Hasslacher and others on subjects such as lattice gas automata. In 1989, he became a research scientist in computational physics at the
University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Es ...
, and senior fellow at the San Diego Supercomputer Center. Shimomura also became a noted computer security expert, working for the
National Security Agency The National Security Agency (NSA) is an intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the director of national intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collection, and proces ...
. In 1992, he testified before Congress on issues regarding the privacy and security (or lack thereof) on cellular telephones. Author
Bruce Sterling Michael Bruce Sterling (born April 14, 1954) is an American science fiction author known for his novels and short fiction and editorship of the ''Mirrorshades'' anthology. In particular, he is linked to the cyberpunk subgenre. Sterling's first ...
described his first meeting with Shimomura in the documentary '' Freedom Downtime'': He is best known for events in 1995, when he assisted with tracking down the computer hacker
Kevin Mitnick Kevin David Mitnick (August 6, 1963 – July 16, 2023) was an American computer security consultant, author, and convicted hacker. In 1995, he was arrested for various computer and communications-related crimes, and spent five years in prison ...
. In that year Shimomura also received prank calls which popularized the phrase " My kung fu is stronger than yours", equating it with hacking. Shimomura and journalist John Markoff wrote a book, '' Takedown'', about the pursuit, and the book was later adapted into a movie with a very similar name, '' Track Down''. Shimomura, himself, appeared in a brief cameo in the movie. Shimomura worked for
Sun Microsystems Sun Microsystems, Inc., often known as Sun for short, was an American technology company that existed from 1982 to 2010 which developed and sold computers, computer components, software, and information technology services. Sun contributed sig ...
during the late 1990s. Shimomura was a founder of privately held fabless semiconductor company Neofocal Systems, and was CEO and CTO until 2016.''"Led by computer whiz Tsutomu Shimomura, Neofocal raises $9M..."''
Jan 23 2015, geekwire.com


Criticism

Kevin Mitnick Kevin David Mitnick (August 6, 1963 – July 16, 2023) was an American computer security consultant, author, and convicted hacker. In 1995, he was arrested for various computer and communications-related crimes, and spent five years in prison ...
and others have raised legal and ethical questions concerning Shimomura's involvement in his case. California author Jonathan Littman wrote a 1996 book about the case called ''The Fugitive Game: Online with Kevin Mitnick'', in which he presented Mitnick's side of the story, which was a very different version from the events written in Shimomura and Markoff's '' Takedown''.Jonathan Littman. ''The Fugitive Game: Online with Kevin Mitnick'' In his book, Littman made allegations of journalistic impropriety against Markoff and questioned the legality of Shimomura's involvement in the matter, as well as suggesting that many parts of ''Takedown'' were fabricated by its authors for self-serving purposes. Mitnick's autobiography, ''Ghost in the Wires'', further expands on concerns that Shimomura's involvement in the case was both unethical and illegal.Kevin Mitnick and William L. Simon, ''Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World's Most Wanted Hacker'', 2011, Hardback


Writing credits

* ''Takedown: The Pursuit and Capture of Kevin Mitnick, America's Most Wanted Computer Outlaw—By the Man Who Did It'' (with John Markoff), 1996, Hyperion Books. ** French title: ''Cybertraque'', 1998, ** Dutch title: ''De klopjacht'', 1996, ** German Title: ''Data Zone - Die Hackerjagd im Internet'', 1996, ** Spanish Title: ''Takedown. Persecución y captura de Kevin Mitnick, el forajido informático más buscado de Norteamérica. Una crónica escrita por el hombre que lo capturó.'', 1997, * "Minimal Key Lengths for Symmetric Ciphers to Provide Adequate Commercial Security", January 1996 (co-authors: Shimomura,
Bruce Schneier Bruce Schneier (; born January 15, 1963) is an American cryptographer, computer security professional, privacy specialist, and writer. Schneier is an Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and a Fellow at the Berkman ...
, Ronald L. Rivest,
Matt Blaze Matt Blaze is an American researcher who focuses on the areas of secure systems, cryptography, and trust management. He is currently the McDevitt Chair of Computer Science and Law at Georgetown University, and is on the board of directors of the ...
,
Whitfield Diffie Bailey Whitfield 'Whit' Diffie ForMemRS (born June 5, 1944) is an American cryptographer and mathematician and one of the pioneers of public-key cryptography along with Martin Hellman and Ralph Merkle. Diffie and Hellman's 1976 paper ''New Dire ...
, Eric Thompson, Michael Wiener)
pdf


References


External links


Web site for the book
*
1996 Charlie Rose interview with Shimomura
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shimomura, Tsutomu Living people American technology writers 1964 births California Institute of Technology alumni Scientists from Princeton, New Jersey Princeton High School (New Jersey) alumni Computer security specialists Writers about computer security Scientists from Nagoya Japanese emigrants to the United States