Certicom, a leading provider of next-generation encryption technology, today announced that it has joined the Trusted Computing Platform Alliance (TCPA). Certicom will work together with founding members Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Intel and Microsoft, to establish an open industry specification for personal computing security technologies.
Certicom will leverage over ten years of intensive research and development in applied cryptography, including the commercialization of many OEM security and encryption products based on the Company's high-performance, industry-standard elliptic curve cryptography (ECC), SSL, PKI and smart card technologies. From wireless messaging applications to electronic commerce, Certicom technology and expertise enables trust and strong security in the next generation of low-cost, consumer information appliances and personal computers.
"Personal computers and wireless devices are the gateway for online financial applications and Internet shopping," said Rick Dalmazzi, Certicom president and CEO. "Creating an open specification for trust and security will only encourage the growth of e-business and eletronic commerce."
The goal of the new alliance is to create a base-level security specification that would complement existing technologies - such as X.509, IPSEC, IKE, VPN, PKI, smart cards, biometrics, S/MIME and SSL - and enhance security at the PC platform level. Such a specification does not currently exist. The alliance aims to create a specification proposal, by the second half of 2000, that can be licensed openly to the industry through appropriate verification and implementation processes.
The alliance expects that the specification will help to define security operations in several critical areas. Areas currently under investigation by the alliance include protected storage of confidential information, generation of random numbers used to create public and private encryption keys, and electronic signing of data used to authenticate the identity of the sender. Recognizing that privacy is extremely important, the TCPA will aim to create a specification that allows computer owners to maintain complete control over information contained by the system. In addition, the group is investigating how to build stronger integrity into systems by enhancing virus detection to validate beyond the software level; check the hardware BIOS, master boot record and operating system; and supply platform integrity information. For more information about the TCPA, visit the alliance Web site at http://www.trustedpc.org.
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