Bank Of Ireland Chooses Baltimore Technologies for Internet Banking; Commercial Electronic Banking PKI to be based on Baltimore's UniCERT.

DUBLIN, Ireland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 17, 1998--Bank Of Ireland has chosen Baltimore Technologies to provide a security infrastructure for its new Internet banking service.

Bank of Ireland is the leading financial services group in Ireland with assets of almost IRL Pounds40 billion (US$54 billion) and 14,500 staff worldwide.

Bank Of Ireland's Commercial Electronic Banking (CEB) system is being developed to provide Internet banking services to business customers. The bank's customers will enjoy the convenience of Internet access coupled with the security and confidentiality provided by Baltimore's security system.

Within the CEB system, business customers will be able to use Web Browsers to access a wide range of account services. The security provided will ensure that confidential financial information is not disclosed and an accurate, reliable record of transactions is maintained.

The Bank is deploying a full Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) system managed through Baltimore's UniCERT Certificate Authority to provide a secure and trustworthy platform for the bank's clients. Full strength (128-bit) encryption is being used to provide confidentiality with the addition of digital certificates to satisfy authentication and non-repudiation requirements.

Mr. Maurice Chadwick, Bank of Ireland IT Programme Manager commented "Our aim is to provide leading edge access to bank accounts and transactions for our business customers. Internet based banking offers excellent opportunities to our customers, but it can only be fully exploited if they trust us to provide a secure service. We chose Baltimore Technologies because of their advanced systems for e-commerce security and the versatility of their product offerings."

Mr. Brian Howley, Head of Sales and Marketing of Bank of Ireland's CEB division commented "This innovative service will provide business customers with the tools necessary to complete a host of standard banking transactions from their PC using the highest form of security available."

This new service will be Internet based and as a result will be free from the problems and costs of managing a proprietary network. Furthermore, the software based encryption provides 128-bit security (without export or usage restrictions) for secure communications between the bank and its clients The use of software-based strong encryption means that no special hardware is required.

"We at Bank of Ireland analysed several alternative approaches based on SSL, Tokens and Browser plug-ins, and in consultation with Vision Consulting and Orygen opted for Baltimore's recommendation to use Java Cryptographic applets complemented by Baltimore's UniCERT(TM) Certificate Authority," added Maurice Chadwick.

The Bank has installed

o J/Crypto (Java Encryption libraries used to security enable

browser based Java applications)

o CST ("C" Encryption libraries used to security enable the Bank's

legacy systems)

o UniCERT (Baltimore Technologies' open, standards based

Certificate Authority which handles all aspects of Digital

Certificates management).

Baltimore Technologies' CEO Fran Rooney said of the project that it is proof of the concept that Public Key Infrastructure has become a dominant business imperative in Banking and that international banks will continue to demand the strongest possible security without restrictions on use. "I believe that we have allowed Bank of Ireland continue to be innovative and build its business with new technologies that provide convenient, secure and cost effective services to its customers."

About Baltimore Technologies

Baltimore Technologies is a world leader in the provision of Information Security products and systems. Its products include solutions for Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), secure email, web & e-commerce. Baltimore Technologies also provides a range of C and Java cryptography toolkits and supplies design and consultancy services to the IT security industry. Baltimore's headquarters are located in the International Financial Services Centre in Dublin and it has offices throughout the world. US headquarters are based in Boston, MA. The company was founded in 1976 and is privately held.

Baltimore Technologies operates the EUROTRUST Trusted Third Party (TTP) infrastructure for electronic commerce throughout Europe in conjunction with commercial and industry partners. EUROTRUST is operated on behalf of and funded by the European Commission.