atsec information security wishes all women a wonderful International Women’s Day. This year we want to dedicate it to Hedy Lamarr, whose work continues to inspire women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).
Long before Wi-Fi or Bluetooth existed, a Hollywood actress was laying the groundwork for both. During World War II, Hedy Lamarr collaborated with composer George Antheil to develop frequency-hopping spread spectrum communication – a method of rapidly switching radio signals across frequencies to make transmissions nearly impossible to jam or intercept. Lamarr and Antheil patented the idea in 1942, and the patent was assigned to the U.S. Navy who, shelved it. As a result, Lamarr saw no financial reward for decades.
Her moment eventually came: later wireless communication systems adopted spread-spectrum techniques based on similar principles. These techniques are used in modern wireless technologies such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and cellular communications. In 1997, she became the first woman to receive the Electronic Frontier Foundation Pioneer Award – long overdue recognition for one of history’s most consequential inventors.
