# Tom Cross (computer security) > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Tom_Cross_(computer_security) > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Tom_Cross_(computer_security).md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Cross_(computer_security) > Source revision: 1288633085 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) American computer security expert (born 1976) This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's notability guideline for academics. Please help to demonstrate the notability of the topic by citing reliable secondary sources that are independent of the topic and provide significant coverage of it beyond a mere trivial mention. If notability cannot be shown, the article is likely to be merged, redirected, or deleted. 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Find sources: "Tom Cross" computer security – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (February 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Tom Cross Tom Cross at the Emperor (Happy Valley) Hotel in Hong Kong in 2001 Born 1976 (age 49–50) Toronto, Ontario, Canada Alma mater Georgia Institute of Technology Known for MemeStreams **Tom Cross** (born 1976), also known as **Decius**, is an American [computer security](/source/Computer_security) expert and [hacker](/source/Hacker_(computer_security)). ## Early life Cross was born in 1976 in [Toronto, Ontario](/source/Toronto%2C_Ontario), [Canada](/source/Canada), and grew up in [Tennessee](/source/Tennessee). His father worked in [telecommunications](/source/Telecommunications) policy and his mother was a [Registered Nurse's Assistant](/source/Registered_Nurse). He attended [Brentwood High School](/source/Brentwood_High_School_(Brentwood%2C_Tennessee)) in [Brentwood](/source/Brentwood%2C_Tennessee), Tennessee, before attending [Georgia Tech](/source/Georgia_Institute_of_Technology) in [Atlanta](/source/Atlanta), receiving a [bachelor's degree](/source/Bachelor's_degree) in [computer engineering](/source/Computer_engineering).[1][2] ## Security work He co-founded the [EFGA](/source/EFGA) (Electronic Frontiers Georgia) in 1995. In 1996, he co-founded Computer Sentry Software, known for their award-winning "CyberAngel" software, a laptop anti-theft program. From 1999 to 2000, he was Chief Engineer at Dataway, a computer security firm in [San Francisco](/source/San_Francisco). From 2000 to 2001 he worked at [iAsiaWorks](/source/IAsiaWorks), as the Director of Global Security Engineering. In 2001, he founded [Industrial Memetics](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Industrial_Memetics&action=edit&redlink=1), which developed the popular collaborative blogging community [MemeStreams](/source/MemeStreams).[3] Cross has been a speaker at several technology conferences, including [PhreakNIC](/source/PhreakNIC); [Summercon](/source/Summercon); "The First International Hackers' Conference in Seoul Korea" (IS2K); "InternetWorld" in [Singapore](/source/Singapore); and [APRICOT](/source/APRICOT_(conference)), the Asia-Pacific Regional Internet Conference on Operational Technologies.[4] He was also among the attendees at the first ever [Def Con](/source/DEF_CON). He is known for extensive "rant" essays and speeches on technology and policy.[5][6] He has also been a co-host on episodes of "[Binary Revolution](/source/Binary_Revolution)", as a [cryptography](/source/Cryptography) expert.[7][8] ## Writing - ["An open letter to PFIR on "Whois" privacy"](https://archive.today/20130102144905/http://legalminds.lp.findlaw.com/list/fight-censorship-announce/msg05103.html), *Politech* listserv, June 24, 2004 - ["DNS WHOIS: Barking up the wrong tree"](http://www.circleid.com/posts/dns_whois_barking_up_the_wrong_tree/), CircleID, June 28, 2004 - ["The Road Ahead for Top-Level Domains"](http://www.circleid.com/posts/answers_from_vint_cerf_on_top_level_domains/), Vint Cerf answers three of Tom's questions in an interview, CircleID, March 13, 2006 - ["Academic freedom and the hacker ethic"](http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1132498&jmp=abstract&coll=ACM&dl=ACM&CFID=72195528&CFTOKEN=8094291), Communications of the ACM, June 2006. - ["Puppy smoothies: Improving the reliability of open, collaborative wikis"](http://www.firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/1400/1318), First Monday, September 2006. ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Cross, Tom (September 2006). ["Puppy smoothies: Improving the reliability of open, collaborative wikis"](http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue11_9/cross/). Retrieved 2007-03-08. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Cross, Tom. ["Georgia-Voter.Info"](https://web.archive.org/web/20041205015542/http://www.georgia-voter.info/). Archived from the original on December 5, 2004. Retrieved 2007-03-08. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Executive Officers"](http://www.industrialmemetics.com/officers.php). Industrial Memetics. Retrieved 2007-10-15. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Tom Cross"](https://web.archive.org/web/20070915103632/http://www.itoc.usma.edu/workshop/2007/Program/Speakers/Cross.htm). *IEEE SMC Information Assurance Workshop*. Information Technology and Operations Center at West Point. Archived from [the original](http://www.itoc.usma.edu/Workshop/2007/Program/Speakers/Cross.htm) on September 15, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-15. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Cross, Tom. ["IP essay by Decius"](http://legalminds.lp.findlaw.com/list/ip-activist/msg00002.html). Retrieved 2007-10-15. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Cross, Tom (December 11, 2012). ["5 key computer network security challenges for 2013"](https://www.forbes.com/sites/ciocentral/2012/12/11/5-key-computer-network-security-challenges-for-2013/). *[Forbes](/source/Forbes)*. Retrieved January 19, 2013. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Episode 58 - Memetics"](https://web.archive.org/web/20071012152547/http://binrev.com/radio/archive.php?p=15). [Binary Revolution](/source/Binary_Revolution). 2004-08-17. Archived from [the original](http://www.binrev.com/radio/archive.php?p=15) on 2007-10-12. Retrieved 2007-10-15. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["Episode 148 - Rainbow Tables"](https://web.archive.org/web/20070607152627/http://www.binrev.com/radio/archive.php?viewid=149). [Binary Revolution](/source/Binary_Revolution). 2006-05-16. Archived from [the original](http://www.binrev.com/radio/archive.php?viewid=149) on 2007-06-07. Retrieved 2007-10-15. ## External links - [Decius's page at MemeStreams](http://www.memestreams.net/users/decius) - [Binary Revolution](https://web.archive.org/web/20060105155940/http://www.binrev.com/radio/archive.php?p=5) - [Industrial Memetics Institute](http://www.industrialmemetics.com) - [PhreakNIC](http://www.phreaknic.info) technology conference - [MemeStreams](http://www.memestreams.net) Weblog Community --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Tom Cross (computer security)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Cross_(computer_security)) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Cross_(computer_security)?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.