Washingtonpost.com staff
Updated April 24, 1998

Philip Zimmermann created the widely distributed Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) e-mail encryption software. Zimmermann has been outspoken in his opposition to government control of encryption keys, and testified in 1996 before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Subcommittee on Science, Technology and Space.

The software engineer and civil liberties advocate also was investigated by the federal government for three years because his PGP software had circulated the globe on the Internet, something the government probed as a possible violation of U.S. export laws related to munitions. But the government dropped its investigation in 1996.

Zimmermann has won many awards for his encryption software, including the 1995 Chrysler Award for Innovation in Design. He received his bachelor's degree from Florida Atlantic University and belongs to several technology research organizations. Zimmermann's clients include such industry giants as Silicon Graphics, Hewlett-Packard and Nike.

Zimmerman can be reached at prz@pgp.com.