Werner Koch
GnuPG Creator and Maintainer
GnuPG
Libgcrypt
Biography
Werner Koch created GnuPG in 1997 and has maintained it since. He is the guardian of open-source encryption that protects communications worldwide.
Daily Work
- Maintaining GnuPG and related cryptographic libraries
- Responding to security issues
- Working on cryptographic standards
- Coordinating with the privacy community
Challenges
“Privacy is a fundamental right. GnuPG helps protect it, but maintaining critical security software with limited resources is challenging.”
Impact
GnuPG secures email encryption and software package signing for Linux distributions. Werner’s work protects the privacy and security of millions.