Following 20 years of innovation, Trusted Computing Group (TCG) has developed a series of specifications worldwide, designed to address new emerging security needs as we shift towards a fully connected ecosystem. This ground-breaking progress wouldn’t have been possible without the collaboration and innovation of its members.  In celebration of its annual success, TCG has honored eight of its member company representatives for their leadership, service and contributions to the development and adoption of global industry standards as part of its Annual Awards.

The October 2019 Annual Members Meeting, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada set the backdrop for the commemoration of success and outstanding work of Trusted Computing Group. With more than 100 members present, winners of TCG’s contribution, leadership and distinguished service awards were recognized for their technical expertise and significant involvement in driving forward specification development and adoption.

At one of the most crucial times of the digital world, TCG technologies have been adopted in more than a billion devices worldwide, which are mitigating more risks now than ever. For a secure ecosystem, free from varying levels of risk, it requires progress from some of the best cybersecurity practices. Therefore, it is essential that we commemorate the innovation and collaboration from volunteers and members who help protect tomorrow – today.

Contribution
Presented annually to several important individuals, the Key Contributor Award nominees are chosen by members and are awarded for exceptional contribution towards various projects which align with Trusted Computing Group’s vision. The first Contribution Award of the evening was presented to Yoni Shternhell of Western Digital Technologies, followed by Jim Hatfield of Seagate Technology, who through their hard work and commitment have excelled Storage Work Group protocols to new heights.

Following this, rewarded for the progress in trusted edge computing technologies was Ned Smith of Intel Corporation, who previously co-chaired the TCG’s Infrastructure and Trusted Network Communication (TNC) Work Groups. Ned is responsible for developing the Open Connectivity Foundation (OCF) security specification for IoT devices and the Common Data Security Architecture (CDSA) specification in The Open Group.

As an active member of the TCG Storage Work Group, Hiroshi Isozaki of Kioxia Corporation was further commended for his efforts with TCG storage-related specifications. Applying a wealth of information security knowledge, Hiroshi was awarded for providing various technical inputs to TCG Ruby SSC, TCG Configurable Namespace Locking feature set, and TCG Opal Family Test Cases specifications.

Leadership
Marking the next stage of the ceremony, the Leadership Award recognizes exceptional leadership within a Committee, Work Group, or Sub-Group.Contributing a wealth of experience  as Principal Researcher of Lenovo Research, Seiichi Kawano, picked up the accolade for leading the team within the device innovation work area. With a deep knowledge of PC architecture and Embedded System Firmware, Seiichi continues to contribute towards industry security through Trusted Computing Group activity.

Through his work as co-chair of the Embedded Systems Work Group and Vehicle Services Sub-Group, Dr. Seigo Kotani of Fujitsu Limited, received the Leadership Award for his successful lead in many TCG activities. Seigo has conducted research on superconductivity and LSI devices including cryptographic chips and authored numerous papers over the years. In 2008, he secured the position of Director, Promoter Board Member, where he is actively furthering his mission and commitment to creating a safer and more secure future.

Distinguished Service
For the final award of the evening, TCG recognizes members each year for its Frank Molsberry Distinguished Service Award. This year’s awardee was a Senior Engineer at IBM,  co-chair of the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) Work Group and the editor of the TPM 1.2 and TPM 2.0 specifications, Ken Goldman. Ken was nominated for his contribution and commitment to the development TCG’s renowned technology, the Trusted Platform Module (TPM).

As the moving force behind the TSS specification series and the reinvigoration of the VPWG, it is with great sadness that TCG announced the passing of its lifetime member, Lee Wilson of Onboard Security, earlier this year. Commemorated for his dedication and commitment to TCG for more than 11 years, Lee Wilson was also honored with the Frank Molsberry Distinguished Service Award. Serving on the Board of Directors, he travelled the world to evangelize TCG’s message and worked tirelessly to develop new technologies based on TCG standards. Lee will be sorely missed by his many TCG friends and collaborators.

The future looks bright for TCG
Looking ahead, there are still many areas and industries which require secure protection and with the development of new applications and technologies this is only set to increase in the future. TCG is committed to the deployment of secure computing through open standards and specifications and with the ongoing commitment from its members, it hopes to engage with more people within communities of interest and across the global community of cybersecurity to ensure a safer and more secure future.