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Researcher & Educator

Michael D. Schroeder

Co-author of the Needham-Schroeder protocol · Xerox PARC and MIT (former) · 50+ years in identity
Focus areas
Authentication ProtocolsSecurity Design PrinciplesDistributed Systems
Notable work
  • Co-authored The Protection of Information in Computer Systems (1975) with Jerome Saltzer
  • Co-authored Using Encryption for Authentication in Large Networks of Computers (1978) with Roger Needham
  • The symmetric-key protocol from that paper is the basis of Kerberos

Bio

Michael D. Schroeder co-authored two of the foundational papers in this field within three years of each other: the 1975 design-principles paper with Jerome Saltzer at MIT, and the 1978 authentication paper with Roger Needham at Xerox PARC.

Profile built from public academic and publication records.

Where their work shows up

The 1978 paper's symmetric-key protocol is the direct ancestor of Kerberos, which means it is the ancestor of how Windows domains authenticate to this day. Its public-key variant was later shown to be flawed and fixed, which established something equally important: authentication protocols need formal analysis, not just careful reading. That lesson runs straight through to the formal work on OAuth decades later. See Kerberoasting and Kerberos delegation abuse for what the protocol's descendants look like under attack.

Built from public information only. This is an independent profile and is not an endorsement by, or affiliation with, the person listed. Corrections: [email protected].