Whitfield Diffie is the inventor of the public key encryption concept that secures most online transactions. Diffie oversees internal security as well as a newly created global security program office. Prior to joining Sun in 1991, Diffie spent 12 years as manager of secure systems research at Northern Telecom. Diffie received a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1965. Since 1993 he has worked largely in public policy, in the area of cryptography, in which he’s worked.”]
Source: https://www.csoonline.com/article/2115744/sun-appoints-diffie-as-cso.html