Authentium Introduces VirtualATM Technology to Lock Down Consumer Online Banking Interactions and Enable Compliance With Industry Guidelines and Regulations.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Financial Institutions and ISPs Incorporate the Toolkit to Create Secure End-to-End Connections for Their Users, Eliminating Threats from Keyloggers or Hackers

Authentium, the leading provider of extensible security software technologies and service platforms, today announced VirtualATM(TM), a software developer's kit (SDK) that allows banks, financial institutions and ISPs to create direct, secure, end-to-end connections with users. VirtualATM prohibits hackers from intercepting communications and eliminates adverse affects from spyware or other malicious desktop agents. In the process, banks can create the most secure environment for online transactions, enable compliance with guidelines from the Federal Financial Institutions Examinations Council (FFIEC), and provide additional safeguards for their customers' critical financial information.

Authentium's VirtualATM technology significantly limits the threat posed by online thieves and helps satisfy new FFIEC regulations. Financial institutions and their clients are currently facing a deluge of security threats. Consumers are regularly deceived by phishing e-mails, which pose as legitimate messages from financial institutions and attempt to coax personal information and passwords from victims. In addition, malicious spyware and screen-scraper technology embedded by hackers in seemingly harmless websites, downloads or e-mail can log keystrokes, capturing log-on data without the user even noticing.

In response, banks are looking to a variety of security technologies that meet or exceed industry regulations calling for stronger defenses. The FFIEC is mandating that online businesses implement stronger security technologies by the end of the year. Among the requirements, all consumer online banking must be protected by two-factor authentication, meaning that all online consumers must use two separate processes for accessing account information.

"This technology comes at a time when financial institutions are striving to find new ways to protect their customers and meet more stringent industry guidelines for authentication," said Scott Crawford, senior analyst at Enterprise Management Associates. "The online banking experience continues to be a primary target of attack, with the result that many consumers have justifiable concerns about conducting transactions online. Authentium's approach moves beyond traditional two-factor authentication to address a more insidious range of threats -- some of which may be deeply hidden -- which collectively pose one of the highest risks to consumer confidence in doing business online. The Authentium solution promises consumers the ability to be protected with little effort, and to conduct online transactions with higher confidence."

Financial institutions can purchase Authentium's VirtualATM SDK to build their own branded solutions. When implemented, end users receive a thin client from the VirtualATM-enabled bank immediately after logging in to their accounts. The client creates a secure tunnel to the bank's website, while locking down the user's desktop. The client halts interaction with other desktop applications, such as keystroke loggers, spyware or other malicious agents. Many ISPs, such as Cox Communications, are already using Authentium technology as part of their branded security suites; These ISPs now can embed the VirtualATM technology into their offerings and offer the highest protection for users conducting financial business.

"Traditional security solutions address only part of the problem and rely heavily on the user's diligence in keeping their PCs healthy and safe from spyware, keyloggers, and other hacker threats," said John Sharp, chairman & CEO of Authentium. "VirtualATM, on the other hand, begins with the presumption that the desktop is compromised, and it locks-down access to everything but the transaction window. Coupled with a strong, trusted, on-demand virtual private network (VPN) connection to a financial institution, VirtualATM addresses virtually every aspect of online security. Short of someone standing over your shoulder, transactions through Authentium's VirtualATM are secure from prying eyes in a way never before possible."

Authentium's solution is based on the company's trusted security extensions toolkit, which watches web-based interactions and can monitor attempts to interfere with those interactions. Authentium developed the core technology over the past five years to ensure it is seamless and does not adversely interfere with end user actions.

How it works

Authentium's VirtualATM technology creates a direct, secure connection between an end user's computer and a third-party web site, such as a bank. The connection is based on Authentium's proprietary trusted security extensions, a toolkit that allows applications to monitor and intercept any interactions with fundamental portions of a computer's operating system.

Developers use trusted security extensions to build functionality that intercepts device driver installations and other system events, or any computer activity that requires the processor to function. Since the functionality is broad reaching, developers are afforded tremendous flexibility in building various security solutions, such as anti-spyware or firewall products, which react based on insidious attempts to hijack computer resources.

VirtualATM uses trusted security extensions to block third parties from interfering with Internet data transactions. For example, VirtualATM eliminates the threat of keyloggers by prohibiting keylogger applications from running, since these applications would initiate events with the processor.

"Without Authentium's trusted security extensions, banks and other vendors of consumer web applications have no idea if third-party spyware and other insidious applications have infiltrated a given end user machine," said Helmuth Freericks, CTO of Authentium. "Authentium's technology allows the user to interact with a bank while, at the same time, locking down the user's machine from any activity -- other than doing business with the bank. The user can rest assured from the possibility of identity theft, while the bank no longer need worry about what evil spyware might exist on an end user's machine."

VirtualATM initiates a virtual private network over IP from the end user to the bank. The combination of this VPN link and the locked-down end user machine means that, while that user is logged into a website powered by VirtualATM, no one can interfere with that session, either while the data is in transit or by virtue of spyware installed on the user's machine.

Pricing and availability

Authentium's VirtualATM is available today. It is priced on a project-by-project basis and is sold to financial institutions, banks and ISPs who would like to create secure end-to-end connections for their users.

About Authentium

Based in West Palm Beach, Florida, Authentium develops core operating system encapsulation, file and application defense, data interception and data analysis technologies for inclusion in its flagship Extensible Service Platform (ESP). Authentium is the leading licensor of security software development toolkits to independent software vendors, software publishers, and security appliance manufacturers, and one of the fastest-growing privately held companies in the security software industry, providing services to millions of end users in enterprise and government organizations, ISPs, and education institutions worldwide. For more information about Authentium, visit www.authentium.com.