Global deployment of strong encryption nears as Key Recovery Alliance welcomes 22 new members

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5-7-97, Business Wire:

Global deployment of strong encryption nears as Key Recovery Alliance welcomes 22 new members

TORONTO--Industry Group Accelerates Growth of Secure Electronic Business

Twenty-two major additional manufacturers, high-tech companies and security innovators such as Boeing, Mitsubishi Electric America, Intel and Silicon Graphics have joined the Key Recovery Alliance to accelerate the growth of security-rich global electronic business. Formed in 1996, the Key Recovery Alliance is a group of 61 international companies that are facilitating the worldwide use of strong encryption.

Encryption is critical to the security of sensitive information that is either stored electronically or sent over public networks like the Internet. Key recovery is a new method that allows for authorized access to encrypted information. "Keys" are encryption tools that lock and unlock data. Key recovery could be an effective tool to meet commercial, private and institutional needs.

The Key Recovery Alliance meets quarterly. During the third meeting of the alliance held April 24 to 25 in Toronto, members discussed the progress of the various working committees that meet regularly.

The committees and their missions are:

-- Technology Requirements Committee -- works to achieve interoperability of key recovery technologies while supporting a wide range of exisiting industry solutions;

-- Policy Committee -- reports on cryptographic regulations worldwide;

-- Deployment Committee -- identifies requirements for worldwide deployment of key recovery and identifies means to expedite that deployment;

-- Business Scenarios Committee -- identifies global business requirements for key recovery;

-- Outreach Committee -- disseminates clear, concise, understandable information about key recovery.

The alliance represents a broad cross-section of information technology providers and customers from around the world that have joined together to address the business needs created by the emergence of network computing and electronic business.

The new members of the alliance are:

Baltimore Technologies nCipher Corp. Boeing NEC Cryptomathic Portland Software GemPlus RedCreek Communications Frontier Technologies Corp. RPK Fujitsu Ltd. Silicon Graphics, Inc. Hitachi Spyrus Open Horizon, Inc. Sterling Commerce Intel Tandem IRE Technical Communications Corp. Mitsubishi Electric America Toshiba

Contact information from the new alliance members appears at the end of this announcement.

Existing alliance members are:

America Online, Inc. Mytec Technologies, Inc. Apple Computer, Inc. NCR Corp. Atalla Network Systems Group of StorageTek Certicom Novell, Inc. Compaq Computer Corp. PSA CygnaCom Solutions, Inc. Price Waterhouse Cylink Corp. Racal Data Group Data Securities International Inc. Rainbow Technologies First Data Corp. RSA Digital Equipment Corp. SafeNet Trusted Services Corp. Digital Signature Trust Company Secure Computing Corp. Entrust Technologies SourceFile Gradient Technologies, Inc. Sterling Commerce Groupe Bull Sun Microsystems, Inc. Hewlett-Packard Trusted Information Systems, Inc. IBM Unisys ICL UPS McAfee Utimaco Mergent Mitsubishi Corporation of Japan VPNet Technologies Motorola

The alliance remains open to other companies with an interest in key recovery.

New Alliance Member Contacts:

Baltimore Technologies Paddy Holahan 353-1605-4399 paddy@baltimore.ie

Boeing Kjell Carlsen 206-865-3500 kjell.carlsen@pss.boeing.com

Cryptomathic Dr. P. Landrock 45-8620-2000

GemPlus Corrine Bonifas 33-4-42-36-5147 corrine.bonifas@ccmail.edt.fr

Frontier Technologies Corp. Dr. Prakash Ambegaonkar 414-241-4555 drp@frontiertech.com

Fujitsu Ltd. Haruki Tabuchi tabuchi@saint.nm.fujitsu.co.jp

Hitachi Shinichi Fukushima 81-45-826-8532 fukushsi@soft.hitachi.co.jp

Intel Tom Potts 503-264-6277 tom_potts@ccm.jf.intel.com

IRE Garry S. Meyer 410-931-4833 gmeyer@ire.com Mitsubishi Electric America Eisaku Takeda 81-4674-1280 etakeda@iss.isl.melco.co.jp

nCipher Corp. Carol Atack 44-1-22-3723600 carol@ncipher.com

NEC Teiji Okumura 81-423-33-1282 okumura@bs1.fc.nec.co.jp

Open Horizon, Inc. Jahan Moreh 310-476-3767 jmoreh@openhorizon.com

Portland SoftwareDagmar Glier 503-220-2300 dagmar@portsoft.com

RedCreek Communications Cary Hayward 510-745-3952 caryh@redcreek.com

RPK Jack Oswald 408-479-7874 joswald@msn.com

Silicon Graphics, Inc. Gayle LeDoux 415-933-2968 ledoux@corp.sgi.com

Spyrus Russ Housley 408-576-5624 housley@spyrus.com

Sterling Commerce Mary VanZandt 972-868-5764 mary_vanzandt@stercomm.com

Tandem Chris Russell 408-285-2390 russell_chris@tandem.com

Technical Communications Corp. George Simmons 508-287-5100 ext. 266 gsimmons@tccsecure.com

Toshiba Toshiaki Saisho 81-44-549-2244 saisho@isl.rdc.toshiba.co.jp

CONTACT: Lisa Lanspery, TSI Cabe Franklin, OAR | 212-696-2000 202-452-9504 | llanspery@tsipr.com cabe_franklin@oar-wash.com