Conference Theme

Every year, RSA® Conference is built around a different theme which highlights a significant historical example of information security. In 2008, we celebrated the influence of Alan Mathison Turing. 

Deep Blue, the supercomputer, defeats chess champion Gary Kasparov. Is it a thinking machine? Physicists attempt to plumb the depths of the chaotic quantum universe using logical algorithms. Is there a limit to computational possibility? A  hacker tries and fails to steal your identity because of sophisticated encryption techniques. Is there such a thing as the unbreakable code? The spirit and thinking of Alan Turing (1912–1954), the British cryptographer, mathematician, logician, philosopher and biologist, animates each of these still-relevant questions and just about any other having to do with the vast potential of computer science. He is often referred to as the father of modern computer science.

During World War II, Turing served on the team of scientists working at Britain’s Bletchley Park Government and Cipher to build a complex electromechanical machine called the Bombe that helped decipher secret codes and transmissions. The Bombe was a significant achievement and the starting point for Turing to develop more advanced computer prototypes throughout his career.

Turing went on to make significant contributions to the relationship between machines and living organisms, opening the door to Artificial Intelligence (AI). As a mathematician, he also vigorously applied the concept of the algorithm to digital computers. This led to his most recognized invention, the Universal Machine (or Turing Machine), a mechanism that is still studied within the theory of computation. The Universal Machine was a flashpoint in the evolution of computers because it read a series of ones and zeros from a paper tape then triggered the steps required to perform automated tasks.

Turing has been the subject of several important biographies and inspired the ACM A. M. Turing Award, which is widely considered to be the computing world’s equivalent to the Nobel Prize. Given annually, the Turing Award honors individuals whose technical contributions have elevated the computing community.

There’s no telling what Turing would do if he were around today, but one thing is certain, he would attend RSA Conference to gather and share new ideas and inspiration.