BBN SafeKeyper Certificate Management System selected by Liberty Financial Companies to launch its new e-commerce customer services.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 28, 1997--BBN Corporation (NYSE: BBN) today announced the BBN SafeKeyper Certificate Management System, a new security solution developed by BBN Systems & Technologies for use on the public Internet. The BBN SafeKeyper Certificate Management System is a solution that provides for secure two-way communication of confidential or sensitive information by ensuring the identity of the inquirer via encryption and certification technology.

BBN's family of value-added security services also includes Site Patrol. This turnkey, managed Internet firewall service, offered by BBN's Planet division, provides reliable perimeter security and support for Virtual Private Networks (VPNs).

The first customer for the BBN SafeKeyper Certificate Management System is Liberty Financial Companies (NYSE: L), a diversified asset management organization. Liberty today announced LEAPS (Liberty Environment for Advanced Personalized Services), a new, highly secure transaction and information service for customers of Liberty Financial's operating companies. Companies in the Liberty Financial family using this platform include Stein Roe & Farnham and Keyport Life Insurance.

LEAPS is a next-generation e-commerce solution, designed to provide secure, personalized customer access to key information and transactions. The BBN SafeKeyper Certificate Management System integrates digital certificates and digital signatures to ensure the identity and authority of communicating parties, the integrity of the information exchanged, and the confidentiality of the communication.

"Liberty's goal is to offer safe and personalized services to our customers and distribution relationships. To do this, we are taking advantage of the accessibility to the public offered by the Internet," said Iang Jeon, vice president of e-commerce, Liberty Financial. "However, customers want to be confident that their transactions and financial information are completely secure and private. We at Liberty Financial need to ensure the authenticity of transactions, and the only way to do this is by using certificates. From our tests and research, the BBN SafeKeyper Certificate Management System is a superior platform, and provides the security we and our customers need."

"This move is the first in a series of steps to reach our customers via the Internet," Jeon said. "We want to use the Internet to improve interactivity and service for our customers. One of our biggest concerns was security. Now, with BBN's solution, we can provide safe, convenient and personalized service."

"BBN is proud to be associated with Liberty Financial's new LEAPS program," said David Campbell, president of BBN Systems & Technologies. "BBN has been developing proven, high-assurance security systems for network environments for the past 15 years, including Internet and intranet solutions for government and commerce. Security is a prerequisite, underpinning network technology, especially for businesses that share confidential information and need a robust security solution like the BBN SafeKeyper Certificate Management System embedded in their business solutions. Now, with increased assurance, e-commerce can grow on the public Internet."

The BBN SafeKeyper Certificate Management System enables organizations to create applications that provide:

-- Secure account access (e.g., bank accounts, brokerage accounts, mutual

funds information, medical records)

-- Authenticated remote access

-- Widespread electronic commerce on the Internet

The BBN SafeKeyper Certificate Management System is a fully integrated family of products that provides high assurance security to create, issue, renew, validate and revoke digital certificates. BBN's turnkey approach enables organizations to provide and manage their own certificate-based operations. Designed around a flexible, distributed, highly secure architecture, BBN SafeKeyper Certificate Management System includes all the elements required to manage an effective Public Key Infrastructure.

"Our products provide comprehensive certificate management, and are designed to enable systems builders to create secure business applications," said Dr. Stephen Cohn, vice president, Secure Systems, BBN Systems and Technologies. "We offer customers a robust, high assurance system. BBN SafeKeyper solutions are customizable, plus they increase control over authentication, and offer high availability and protection. The architecture is founded on an open systems approach. BBN is committed to supporting industry standards."

BBN Corporation is a leading provider of Internet services and internetworking solutions for businesses and organizations. BBN's Systems & Technologies division designs and builds secure, reliable networks to enhance and advance internetworking technologies and services for government and industry. Supporting the world's most demanding networks, its security solutions include the BBN SafeKeyper(R) Certificate Management System, a high-assurance, RSA-based system that enables organizations to manage Digital Certificates throughout their life cycle, and the BBN SafeKeyper Signer, a security device that supports Digital Signature applications. BBN Corporation posted revenue of $234 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1996. For more information, please visit BBN's web site at http://www.bbn.com .

Liberty Financial Companies is a diversified asset management organization with more than $47 billion in assets under management. It provides an array of fixed, variable and indexed annuities and management of private and institutional accounts in addition to 60 mutual funds that meet the needs of over 1.4 million investors worldwide. Its subsidiaries include: Keyport Life Insurance; The Colonial Group, Inc.; Stein Roe & Farnham Incorporated; Independent Financial Marketing Group; Newport Pacific Management and Liberty Asset Management Company. Liberty Financial Companies' web site is located at http://www.lib.com .

SafeKeyper(R) is a Registered Trademark of BBN Corporation.

CONTACT: Joan L. Irons

BBN Corporation

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Lisa Petrocchi

FitzGerald Communications

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Darlene Janis

BBN Systems & Technologies

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William P. Rice

Liberty Financial Companies, Inc.

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