Lars Eilebrecht

Early Life and Education

Lars Eilebrecht was born in March 1972 in Germany. In 1998 he received a Master of Science degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Siegen in Germany.

Career

Eilebrecht's professional background spans software engineering, information security, and IT consultancy. His early employers included Cable & Wireless, CyberSolutions, Parc Technologies, Quam, and Ciphire Labs, where he served as Director Security Solutions and Chief Security Architect. His work at Ciphire Labs reflects a sustained interest in cryptography and security architecture that has defined much of his career.

Between 2008 and 2019, Eilebrecht worked as an independent IT consultant, advising organizations such as the BBC, Channel 4, Heise Media, El Tiempo, and Pearson. During this period he was based in the United Kingdom, where he founded the IT consultancy Primevation Ltd and served as its owner and managing director. He was also a partner at pliXos GmbH.

Since 2019, Eilebrecht has been based in Germany, working as a Chief Information Security Officer. He has held CISO roles at the Widas Group and polypoly.

Open Source Contributions

Eilebrecht is one of the original developers of the Apache HTTP Server and was a member of the Apache Group, the informal collective that gave rise to the project. He is a co-founder and member of the Apache Software Foundation (ASF), the nonprofit organization established to support Apache projects.

From the foundation's earliest days, Eilebrecht contributed to its Conferences Committee, helping to organize ApacheCon events. He served as Vice President, Conference Planning from 2007 to 2009. He is also a member of the ASF Security Team and the ASF Public Relations Committee.

In recognition of his efforts to raise awareness of Apache, Eilebrecht received O'Reilly's Appaloosa Award.

Security and Cryptography

Eilebrecht holds the CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional) certification and has maintained a long-standing interest in IT security and cryptography. He has spoken at notable industry events including the Financial Cryptography and Data Security conference and the 21st Chaos Communication Congress (21C3). He was a member of the International Financial Cryptography Association from 2005 to 2006.

Publications

Eilebrecht is the author of Apache Webserver, the first German-language book dedicated to the Apache HTTP Server. He published five editions of the book between 1997 and 2003, making the software accessible to a German-speaking technical audience during a formative period in the web's development.