Atalla Introduces Its Hardware-Based TrustMaster CSP Security Engine for the Microsoft CryptoAPI Environment; Powerful security product can be incorporated into Microsoft's Internet Security Framework, MISF, to supercharge performance and physically safeguard cryptographic material.

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 23, 1997--Atalla, (a Tandem Company) today introduced a new high-performance, hardware-based CSP (Cryptographic Service Provider) product for the Microsoft CryptoAPI environment. The new Atalla TrustMaster CSP is a PCI expansion card that can fortify and accelerate a broad range of security features for any CryptoAPI-based application. The new CSP product is a dedicated security engine that offloads computationally intensive security tasks such as realtime generation and verification of digital signatures and certificates, and bulk encryption and decryption. In addition, Atalla's TrustMaster CSP manages and safeguards private keys for Microsoft Window NT 4.0-based applications using specially-designed, physically secure hardware.

"Atalla's TrustMaster CSP product is one of a range of new CSP products that enhance the Microsoft CryptoAPI environment," said Barbara Fox, Senior Architect for Windows NT Security at Microsoft. "Essentially, Atalla has brought the same kind of strong security, high performance and key management functionality that they have been providing to their banking industry customers for years, to new kinds of WIN32(R)-based Internet commerce applications. These kinds of high-performance hardware security engines from Atalla will provide our customers with additional assurances for safe commerce on the Internet."

Atalla's new CSP product is based on Microsoft's Internet Security Framework (MISF). The MISF is a standards-based interoperable framework that provides the ability to exchange information securely across public networks. For Windows-based applications it provides an extensible architecture that integrates proven internet security methods into the security method for Windows. Microsoft's CryptoAPI architecture, a key component of the the MISF, provides a common interface from any application to all cryptographic services. This simplifies the task of developing applications that are secure, portable and standardized.

"The availability of this new TrustMaster CSP product should solve a major piece of the Internet commerce puzzle," said Robert Gargus, President and General Manager of Atalla. "Microsoft application developers now have a way to incorporate strong, high-performance hardware-based cryptography transparently and build trust into their Internet commerce applications. This applies to the entire spectrum of vertical market applications in Healthcare, Government, Digital Content Distribution and many others. These kinds of security capabilities were previously only available to large-scale financial institutions processing large volumes of transactions over private networks. End users now have a choice in the strength and performance of the application-level security built into the Windows-based applications they choose."

The Atalla TrustMaster CSP will sell for $4,995.00, and will ship in November of 1997. The initial release supports the PROV_RSA_FULL CSP which provides for digital signatures and data encryption. It is fully compatible with Microsoft's latest release of CryptoAPI on Windows NT 4.0 systems, and uses 2048-bit keys for digital signatures.

About Atalla

Atalla (a Tandem Company) brings nearly 25 years of experience securing commerce over private networks to the public networks and the Internet/Intranet arena. The company's products include industry-leading hardware-based security processors for the Internet, Intranet and the bank transfer networks, POS/POE (point-of-sale/point-of-entry) credit/debit payment terminals, customer authorization and PIN selection terminals, and secure enrollment products for banking and government applications. An estimated 70 percent of all ATM transactions in North America (estimated value: $1.4 trillion daily) are secured by Atalla's specialized security processor products. Atalla is headquartered at 2304 Zanker Road, San Jose CA 95131. Phone: [phone]. Fax: [phone]. -0-

Note to Editors: WebSafe, PayMaster, TrustMaster and Atalla are trademarks of Atalla Corporation (a Tandem Company). Microsoft, Windows and Windows NT are registered trademarks of Mircrosoft Corporation. All other marks are property of their respective companies.

CONTACT: Atalla Corporation

Gary Lefkowitz, 408/435-5715

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