Robert Morris, a mathematician and cryptographer who was among the top U.S. computer security experts and a leading developer of the widely used Unix operating system, died June 26 at a hospital in Lebanon, N.H. He was 78 and had complications from dementia.
Morris, who was the digital gatekeeper of the U.S. government's computer secrets, worked at the National Security Agency, the country's code-making and code-breaking apparatus, from 1986 to 1994. As chief scientist with the NSA's National Computer Security Center, he led a team that defended the military's networks from outside attack.
He also played a crucial role in the military's cyber offensive against the government of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. He helped disrupt Iraq's computer systems in the months before the 1991 Persian Gulf War began.
At Bell Laboratories in the 1970s, Morris worked on the security protocols for the Unix computer operating system. Today, Unix-based operating systems can be found on millions of Apple iPhones and iPads.
WASHINGTON POST
