Baltimore Technologies Announces Integration of Advanced Encryption Standard --AES-- Algorithm Into Baltimore Product Set.

Business/Technology Editors

DUBLIN, Ireland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 2, 2000

Baltimore Technologies (NASDAQ:BALT; London:BLM), a global leader in e-security, today announced that it will fully support the new AES algorithm, Rijndael, across its full product range, including both its hardware and software products. The AES algorithm, chosen today by the United States National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), will be incorporated in all Baltimore products including Baltimore KeyTools, a radical new suite of developer products and Baltimore SureWare(TM), a range of next generation e-security hardware products. The AES algorithm will be available within the KeyTools family beginning Wednesday, October 11th.

The Rijndael algorithm was selected following extensive evaluation by NIST over a three and a half year period, during which time security architects at Baltimore Technologies have been closely monitoring progress towards the final decision. Commenting on today's announcement of the selection of the Rijndael algorithm by NIST, Baltimore Technologies Senior Cryptographer William Whyte stated: "The thorough testing process for the AES should increase public confidence and eliminate suspicion of trapdoors or hidden weaknesses in the Rijndael algorithm. This will help not only interoperability, but the credibility of cryptography as a whole."

The AES project was set up to develop a Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) to specify a symmetric algorithm to replace the Data Encryption Standard (DES) algorithm. The DES algorithm is now considered to be vulnerable to attack, given the small cryptographic key sizes used. AES is designed to be capable of protecting sensitive government information for many years to come. The Rijndael algorithm will be used by the U.S. Government and, on a voluntary basis, by the private sector and will replace the DES as a federally-sanctioned trusted symmetric encryption algorithm.

--To learn more about the AES, visit http://dev.baltimore.com/aes/

--To attend a webinar on the AES, register at http://dev.baltimore.com/aes/seminar.html

About the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) Algorithm

On January 2nd, 1997, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the USA announced the proposed development of an Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) to replace DES as a federally-sanctioned trusted symmetric encryption algorithm. On September 12th, 1997, NIST made a formal call for researchers to submit algorithms as candidates for the AES. Fifteen candidates which satisfied the (mainly presentational) submission criteria were accepted into the first round of the process and announced on August 20th, 1998. For the last year these algorithms have been examined in public by the world's cryptographic community, in a process which would end in some algorithms being eliminated from consideration and a small number proceeding to the second round. On August 9th, 1999, NIST announced the five AES finalists: MARS, RC6, Rijndael, Serpent and Twofish. Today it was announced that Rijndael was chosen as the AES winner. The Rijndael algorithm is designed by Joan Daemen (Banksys, Brussels, Belgium) and Vincent Rijmen (KU Leuven, Belgium).

About Baltimore Technologies

Baltimore Technologies develops and markets security products and services to enable companies to develop trusted, secure systems for e-business, the Internet and mobile commerce. Its products include a wide range of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) systems, wireless e-security solutions, cryptographic toolkits, security applications and hardware cryptographic devices. Baltimore's global professional services organization offers a wide variety of consulting, training and deployment support to its customers worldwide. Baltimore Technologies markets and sells its solutions worldwide directly and through the TrustedWorld(TM) channel program. Baltimore TrustedWorld includes many of the world's leading technology companies and a wide variety of global, regional and local business alliance partners. Baltimore Technologies employs over 800 people worldwide and operates from over 28 cities with headquarters in Dublin, Ireland; London, UK; Boston, USA and Sydney, Australia. Baltimore Technologies plc is a public company with dual listings on NASDAQ (BALT) and the London Stock Exchange (BLM). On September 14, 2000, Baltimore Technologies announced its definitive agreement to acquire Content Technologies, developers of the MIMEsweeper range of products and the market leader in content security solutions http://www.contenttechnologies.com For further information and press releases on Baltimore Technologies, please visit http://www.baltimore.com

Baltimore Technologies, Global E|Security, E|Security, TrustedWorld, PKI World, Zergo, ZSA and Baltimore product names including UniCERT, MailSecure, PKI-Plus, Baltimore KeyTools, KeyTools Lite, KeyTools Pro, KeyTools SSL, KeyTools S/MIME, KeyTools XML, KeyTools m-Sign, KeyTools Crypto, W/Secure, X/Secure and J/CRYPTO are all trademarks of Baltimore Technologies plc and its subsidiaries.

All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Certain statements that are not historical facts including certain statements made over the course of this document may be forward-looking in nature. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance and achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements implied by such forward-looking statements.