Steve Crocker

Steve Crocker

President, Edgemoor Research Institute
Joined on July 12, 2004
Total Post Views: 53,575

About

Steve Crocker is an Internet pioneer and computer scientist with experience in academia, government, and industry. He earned his B.A. in mathematics and Ph.D. in computer science from UCLA. He managed research at DARPA in the early 1970s, founded the computer science research laboratory at The Aerospace Corporation in the early 1980s, and co-founded CyberCash, Inc. His honors include the 2002 IEEE Internet Award, an honorary doctorate from the University of San Martín des Porres in Lima, Perú, founding membership in the Internet Hall of Fame Pioneers, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Internet Society.

Steve Crocker was the founding chair of ICANN’s Security and Stability Committee (SSAC). He also served on the ICANN Board from 2003 to 2017, first as a liaison from SSAC and then nine years as a director. For the last six-and-a-half of those years, he chaired the board, overseeing the recruiting of two CEOs and the transition in 2016 to independence from the NTIA agreement.

Steve Crocker is President of Edgemoor Research Institute (ERI). ERI facilitates the development and analyses of proposed and existing policies regarding the collection and access to registration data, including personally identifiable information.

Except where otherwise noted, all postings by Steve Crocker on CircleID are licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Featured Blogs

Elizabeth “Jake” Feinler: The Mother of Whois

Elizabeth "Jake" Feinler, known as the "Mother of Whois," transformed internet infrastructure as the ARPANET Network Information Center's lead. Her work in organizing data and pioneering Whois set the foundation for modern internet protocols. A trailblazer in technology, she championed inclusivity, mentoring women and minorities, while her legacy endures as a cornerstone of the digital age. more

Meeting Report: ICANN’s Registration Data Request Service Requestor Experiences

During CSG Open Working Session at ICANN79, Members from the ICANN Community were invited to an open meeting to share their experiences with Registration Data Request System (RDRS) from the Requestor side. As President of the Edgemoor Research Institute (ERI), I had the honor to present the keynote address and I am pleased to be able to provide you with ERI's report of the meeting. more

If You’re Thinking About Applying to Be the Next ICANN CEO…

ICANN is preparing to search for its next CEO. In the past and again now, each of us has been asked for advice about applying for the job. We have willingly offered our perceptions of what the job requires. The general thrust of our advice is to alert the potential applicant about the complexities and demands of the job so they can assess for themselves whether they might be a viable candidate. Our comments in these situations are, of course, purely our own opinions, and are not connected to the official posture of ICANN. more

WHOIS Disclosure Questions

In 2020, the ICANN Generic Name Supporting Organization (GNSO) Council approved a plan to revamp the WHOIS system as per the recommendations given by the ICANN Expedited Policy Development Process (EPDP). This plan directed ICANN to develop a centralized System for Standardized Access/Disclosure (SSAD) for WHOIS records. After much debate regarding the suitability and cost of such a system, ICANN brought together a group... more

The Site Finder Report: Dr. Stephen Crocker, Chair of the Committee

As an advisory committee, our focus is to give ICANN and the community our best advice regarding security and stability issues for the domain name system and the addressing system. We are not a standards, regulatory, judicial or enforcement body; those functions belong elsewhere. As we all know, VeriSign is in the process of suing ICANN on a number of matters, including ICANN's response to their registry change last September. Although VeriSign now contends that a number of us on the committee are "Site Finder co-conspirators" the next steps are really up to the ICANN board, the ICANN staff and the many members of the technical and operating community who run the domain name system. I'll be happy to interact with the members of the community here on CircleID as time permits. more