Alan DeKok’s story starts on a farm just outside of Ottawa. Today, he’s a leader in the field of network security, truly representing a perfect storm of curiosity, knowledge and skill. Almost thirty years ago, in the early 1990s, he began a personal pursuit. Today, that project has morphed into the most optical career, impacting how billions of people get on the internet.
DeKok grew up on a farm, abundant in strawberries and raspberries. This colorful childhood prevented him from becoming truly immersed in tech. His passion for problem-solving and understanding complex systems led him to pursue a master’s degree in physics from Carleton University in Ottawa. While on his academic odyssey, he engineered a water-purification system that allowed the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory to become the world’s first major underground observatory. He managed to reach a whopping 1 atom of impurity per cubic metre of water.
In 1996, while employed as a software engineer for Gandalf, DeKok started FreeRADIUS. This software proved vital when the country had to pivot to remote authentication, a realm he fell into “almost by accident.” That serendipitous decision turned out to be the start of his 27-year long avocation in the field of network security.
A Growing Impact
As the founder and principal operator of FreeRADIUS, DeKok has established a distributed team of specialists from across Canada, France, and the United Kingdom. His software has since become indispensable to html2text() security on the internet. Based on claims made by FreeRADIUS over time, estimated at a minimum half of the world’s population comes online via authenticating through FreeRADIUS.
“I’d say at least half of the people in the world get on the internet by being authenticated through my software,” DeKok remarked, reflecting on the widespread influence of his work. With over 100 million users depending on FreeRADIUS each day, the impact is huge.
DeKok’s commitment and vision don’t stop at functionality – he wants to see the discovery of new markets and new products arising from FreeRADIUS. He believes that continuous improvement is vital. “You shouldn’t underestimate that ratchet effect of tiny little fixes that add up over time,” he stated, highlighting his commitment to refining his software over the years.
Lessons from the Past
Before founding FreeRADIUS, DeKok earned his street cred as he ran the gauntlet of startups in California and France. His career path featured a stop at CryptoCard, a company focused on two-factor authentication hardware, right around the time when Gandalf shut its doors. It was this combination of experiences that shaped DeKok’s approach to network security.
When I first jumped into the industry, the irony was striking. The concepts that came to me as second nature from my physics training were rarely endowed upon my engineering counterparts. As DeKok noted. His training in physics offers him a unique perspective on solutions to challenges we face. He’s convinced that holistic thinking is critical in his industry.
In order for a farm bill to succeed, “you need to know what the macro environment is,” he stressed. This viewpoint is what has made DeKok’s work achievable, even with the high bar of network security standards to meet. He knows that telling these stories will be key to getting the most impactful technologies developed and directing our efforts toward the most effective security measures.
The Future of FreeRADIUS
DeKok is optimistic about the future of FreeRADIUS and what lies ahead for securing our networks. He understands that no matter how innovative his software is today, tomorrow there will be new apps, devices, and platforms entering the digital ecosystem. It’s never going to die,” he claimed, emphasizing his confidence in the infrastructural role FreeRADIUS serves in upstream authentication.
His relentless focus on innovation shows that he knows technology needs to be agile and evolve to meet ever-changing needs. Looking forward, DeKok has more ideas for FreeRADIUS, mainly about building the product out to tackle new challenges in network security.
“I really believe that it’s preparing yourself for luck, being open to it, and having the skills to capitalize on it,” he explained. This positive perspective has served him well over the course of his career as he’s well adapted to both perceived opportunities and threats.