About Werner Koch
Born 1961. Werner Koch is a German cryptographer, mathematician, engineer, computer scientist and software developer, known for GNU Privacy Guard.
Werner Koch (born July 11, 1961) is a German free software developer. He is best known as the principal author of the GNU Privacy Guard (GnuPG or GPG). He was also Head of Office and German Vice-Chancellor of the Free Software Foundation Europe. He is the winner of Award for the Advancement of Free Software in 2015 for founding GnuPG.
Journalists and security professionals rely on GnuPG, and Edward Snowden used it to evade monitoring whilst he leaked classified information from the United States National Security Agency.
Life and work Koch lives in Erkrath, near Düsseldorf, Germany. He began writing GNU Privacy Guard in 1997, inspired by attending a talk by Richard Stallman who made a call for someone to write a replacement for Phil Zimmermann's Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) which was subject to U.S. export restrictions.
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Important facts
People in Werner Koch's life
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Frequently asked questions
Who is Werner Koch?
German free software developer
When was Werner Koch born?
Werner Koch was born on 11 July 1961 in Düsseldorf.
What is Werner Koch's occupation?
Werner Koch is a cryptographer, mathematician, engineer, computer scientist and software developer.
What is Werner Koch known for?
Werner Koch is known for GNU Privacy Guard.
What nationality is Werner Koch?
Werner Koch is German.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Werner Koch. https://biography.guide/werner-koch/
MLA: "Werner Koch." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/werner-koch/.
Chicago: "Werner Koch." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/werner-koch/.
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