Introduction
I am a cryptographer by training, but my interests range widely over the entire field of computer science. At various points, I have:
- Conducted computer-security research for a federally-funded think-tank,
- Taught computer science as an Associate Professor,
- Developed algorithms for a software start-up,
- Supported myself as a full-time consultant,
- Created a successful web-based mom-and-pop startup, and
- Helped design safe Internet-wide systems for for a Fortune 500 company.
Brief biography
- 1993-1997: Student at Harvey Mudd College, earning a BS in Mathematics.
- 1997-2006: Cryptographer at The MITRE Corporation, a federally-funded research and development center (FFRDC). During this time, I also went back to school at MIT (2000) to earn my doctorate (2004).
- 2006-2009: Associate Professor at the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey CA. Note, however, that I went on 'leave of absence' in 2008, when I needed to return to New England for family reasons.
- 2006-2009: Started and ran a side-business as a self-employed consultant. (See my consulting page for more information.)
- 2008: Computer Scientist at Basho Technologies. A brief foray into the world of the tech start-up, cut all too short by the economic events of 2008.
- 2009-2014: Technical Staff at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, another federally-funded research and development center.
- 2014-Present: Senior Security Architect at Akamai Technologies, the largest CDN in the world.
Consulting
I am no longer actively consulting or taking on new clients. Former clients include:
- The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) Project: Review, testing, and validation of a cryptographic library.
- Basho Technologies: Development of technical roadmap for new client effort in data-mining.
- MSR Security: Analysis of proprietary cryptographic algorithm.
- The MITRE Corporation: Development of resilient-system programming-language constructs.
Teaching
During my stint as a Professor, I taught:
- Introduction to Data Structures and Intermediate Programming
- Programming Paradigms
- Formal Analysis of Cryptographic Protocols
- Topics in Modern Cryptography
Who I am not
While mine is a rare name, it is not so rare as to be unique. There is, in fact, more than one person named "Jon Herzog," "Jonathan Herzog," or even "Jonathan C. Herzog" in the world. Specifically:
- My middle name is not Lionel.
- I do not work for Macy's.
- I did not attend the Webb School of California.
- I did not attend Harvard Law School.
- While I was employed by the US Navy, I have never been an officer in any armed services.
- I am not a children's book illustrator.
- I am not a window washer.
- I was not a staffer for Andrew Yang, nor have I ever run for congress.
- I never lived in Venezuela.
- I have never lived in Hawaii.
- I am not affilitated with the Sauber Group F1 team.
- I am not this lawyer, and do not work in the entertainment/media industries.
- Nor am I this lawyer, and do not work in private equity.
- I have no affiliation with the Chita Rivera Awards.
- I am not the president of Okmin Resources or affiliated with the oil industry in any way.
- I am not affiliated with the Westrum Development Company or real estate development in general.
- I am not a therapist, even though I live in the Seattle area.
- I am not affiliated with the Salvation Army.
- With the exception of LinkedIn, I do not use social-networking sites such as Orkut, LiveJournal, Facebook, Twitter, etc. If you see a Jonathan Herzog there, it is not me.
I did, however, grow up in Maine (USA) and attend the Waynflete and Morse high schools. If that sounds familiar, you've probably found the right Jonathan Herzog.