Donn Parker came to SRI in 1969 as director of computer operations after 17 years at Control Data Corporation, following graduate education in mathematics at UC Berkeley. Opportunities to discover new things at SRI led him into research and consulting on computer crime and information security where he developed the premier information security consulting program that made an international reputation for himself and SRI. The program was spun off when he retired in 1997.
Donn has led and been a team member of more than 250 information security consulting projects at SRI. These projects have enabled businesses and governments to use computers and communications more safely. The National Science Foundation and Department of Justice funded much of his research on computer abuse, misuse, and ethics. Donn has interviewed more than 200 computer criminals and their victims, and produced definitive reports and six books on computer crime and security; they have been translated into several languages. For many years he was making more than 60 presentations each year for SRI throughout the world and has been interviewed or quoted widely, firmly establishing SRI as a leader in information security.
Donn’s most significant single contribution was the establishment of the International Information Integrity Institute (I-4). He started I-4 as a multiclient membership program in 1985; it grew to 75 members and continued today as the preeminent information security membership organization world wide. Member organizations have included IBM, GE, HP, DuPont, 3M, Merck, EDS, Bank of America, Citigroup, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, Rabobank, Siemens, Motorola, Fujitsu, NEC, NIT, Schwab, Deloitte & Touche, St. Paul Companies, Fidelity, Morgan Stanley, and government participants including the US, British, Singapore, Dutch, and Japanese. SRI sold I-4 as part of SRIC, but it continues at RedSiren Technologies to have a relationship with SRI and still brings credit to SRI.
Through his leadership and extensive work in computer security, Donn Parker has made significant contributions to the enduring success of SRI.