nCipher Teams with Netegrity to Secure Enterprise Networks

nCipher’s nShield Protects Cryptographic Keys for Netegrity SiteMinder Access Control Software

Woburn, Mass., and Waltham, Mass., Â? May 20, 2002— nCipher plc (LSE:NCH), a leading provider of cryptographic IT security solutions, and Netegrity, Inc. (Nasdaq: NETE), the leading provider of solutions for securely managing e-business relationships, announced today a technology partnership which has resulted in nCipher’s hardware-based encryption products being integrated with Netegrity’s industry-leading access control software, SiteMinder?’. The combination of these two products provides companies with a new level of security by ensuring that critical cryptographic keys are protected from physical attack and malicious use, therefore reducing risk and increasing the overall security of an enterprise network.

The adoption of distributed enterprise applications, such as customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise requirement planning (ERP) systems, raises the challenge of managing access to these resources and enforcing access and authorization rights. In order to protect the exchange of personal credentials and passwords from theft and ensure that authorization policies cannot be manipulated or tampered with, enterprise networks must rely on powerful access control software tools, such as SiteMinder. Cryptographic keys play a crucial role in these access control solutions, in the protection of stored user profiles and in the verification and authentication of passwords and certificates. These keys are therefore important security resources and enterprise networks, already using the protection of SiteMinder software, can further enhance their security network through the use of hardware specifically designed to protect and manage encryption keys.

Through its work with nCipher, Netegrity has taken additional steps to take the security of its latest version (5.0) of the SiteMinder product family to the next level. The nCipher nShield Hardware Security Module (HSM) is now integrated with the SiteMinder Policy Server to protect the mechanisms used to maintain the confidentiality of user credentials, group associations and access rights. In addition, the nShield HSM helps to protect the internal communications processes between the central Policy Server and other SiteMinder components, minimizing the threat of bogus authorization levels being granted. The nShield HSM is a dedicated hardware component that enhances the host server platform and operating system by providing a virtually impervious internal security zone where sensitive cryptographic functions, such as those used by SiteMinder, can be performed.

“Our customers, particularly in the financial services sector, have very stringent corporate security policies. nCipher’s market-leading key management technology enables us to extend our feature set to further address our customer’s growing security needs,” said Bill Bartow, vice president and general manager, Access Control and Identity Management Business Unit at Netegrity. “nCipher’s nShield HSM, delivers the security and performance that our customers require to create an even stronger enterprise-wide security solution.”

“Controlling access and establishing authorization policies, as critical components of a security infrastructure, are certainly not luxuries, they are a necessity. The work between nCipher and Netegrity is addressing an emerging need to not only protect sensitive data, but also addressing a need to protect cryptographic keys and the actual processes that govern the use of that data. The relationship between nCipher and Netegrity is a natural fit, offering both access control and the protection of the keys and processes that are vital to an organization’s security,” said Neil Osipuk, Directing Analyst, Infonetics Research.

“We are pleased with the opportunities provided by the AAA/Single sign-on marketplace and the growing acceptance of the use of cryptography and adherence to industry standards such as FIPS as a security best practice,” said Richard Moulds, vice president, marketing, nCipher. “Partnering with a market leader like Netegrity enables nCipher to extend the applicability of our products to a wider set of security sensitive applications and trust infrastructures. “

About Netegrity
Netegrity is the leading provider of software solutions for securely managing e-business relationships. The Netegrity Secure Relationship Management (SRM) platform provides shared services that centrally manage access control, single sign-on, user management, and portal services to enable companies to cost-effectively provide their customers, partners, and employees with the secure, interactive access to applications and content required by their business relationships. With its vast network of partners, Netegrity is securely managing e-business solutions for over 575 customers worldwide including Aetna, American Express, Bank One, E*TRADE, General Electric, the Internal Revenue Service, and Wells Fargo. Headquartered in Waltham, Mass., Netegrity also has offices throughout Europe and Asia. More information can be found at www.netegrity.com.

About nCipher
nCipher is redefining cryptographic security to protect points of risk across the enterprise—from network appliances to Web servers, to custom software applications and back-end databases. nCipher provides hardware and software solutions that enable organizations to implement best practice security by addressing the challenges of cryptographic key management and performance. Many of the world’s leading organizations—from Microsoft and Barclays Bank to PricewaterhouseCoopers and the U.S. Navy—rely on nCipher to deliver a sound e-security infrastructure. nCipher’s products are particularly well suited to organizations with high volumes of security-sensitive transactions, such as banking and financial institutions, government departments, e-retailers and online service providers.

nCipher is listed on the London Stock Exchange as a TechMARK 100 company (LSE:NCH) with offices in Cambridge, UK; Boston, New York, San Francisco, Dublin, Paris, Hamburg, Hong Kong and Tokyo. For more information on nCipher, visit www.ncipher.com.