Martin Hellman is an American cryptographer known for co-inventing public-key cryptography with Whitfield Diffie and Ralph Merkle in the 1970s. Their groundbreaking Diffie-Hellman key exchange method allowed secure communication over insecure channels, laying the foundation for modern encryption protocols. Hellman has also contributed to cybersecurity policy and ethical discussions on nuclear risk. His work has had a lasting impact on cryptography, internet security, and global information protection.

Martin received the 2015 Turing Award together with Whitfield Diffie “for inventing and promulgating both asymmetric public-key cryptography, including its application to digital signatures, and a practical cryptographic key-exchange method. “

In this episode he joins Gregor Vand to talk about his life and career. You can also find a free copy of Martin and Dorothie Hellman’s book in PDF format here.