Dan Farmer
Dan Farmer | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 5, 1962 |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation(s) | Computer security expert, programmer |
| Known for | Development of vulnerability scanners (COPS, SATAN, Titan), coauthor of Forensic Discovery, co-founder and CTO of Elemental Security |
Dan Farmer (born April 5, 1962) is an American expert in computer security and a programmer recognized for his groundbreaking work in developing vulnerability scanners tailored for Unix operating systems and computer network infrastructures.
Life and career
While pursuing his studies in computer science at Purdue University, Farmer created his initial software package, the Computer Oracle and Password System (COPS), in 1989, with guidance from professor Gene Spafford. This suite contained dedicated vulnerability scanners aimed at identifying security flaws within Unix systems.
In 1995, Farmer collaborated with Dutch developer Wietse Venema to produce the Security Administrator Tool for Analyzing Networks (SATAN), a network vulnerability scanning tool designed for security assessments. Early misconceptions about SATAN’s intent sparked fears that it might be exploited by attackers, which led to Farmer's termination from SGI. Nevertheless, SATAN was intended exclusively as an auditing instrument, detecting weaknesses and suggesting remedies without providing methods to exploit them. Over time, tools akin to SATAN have become integral components of standard computer and network security evaluations.
Farmer also partnered with Brad Powell and Matt Archibald to create the Titan vulnerability scanner, which they introduced at the Large Installation System Administration Conference (LISA) in 1998.
Alongside Venema, he contributed to the development of the forensic analysis toolkit The Coroner's Toolkit and coauthored Forensic Discovery (2005), an influential work in the field of computer forensics.
Farmer is a co-founder of Elemental Security with Dayne Myers and has held the position of the company’s chief technical officer.