Canada's Communications Security Establishment Pre-Qualifies Kasten Chase's RASP Data Security Solutions.

Business Editors

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 16, 2000

Kasten Chase (TSE:KCA.)

RASP now available for sale in Canada

Kasten Chase, a leading provider of high-assurance data security systems, announced today that the Canadian Government's Communications Security Establishment ("CSE") has pre-qualified its RASP Secure Access and RASP Secure Media products for use by Canadian Government departments. In addition to the U.S. Government's NSA certification, this pre-qualification means that RASP Secure Access and RASP Secure Media may now be used by Canadian Government departments, which significantly expands the company's addressable market.

"With CSE pre-qualification, our RASP solutions will be included in the Canadian Government's ITS Product Pre-qualification Program (IPPP)," said Steve Ducat, Kasten Chase's Senior Vice President. "This is a very significant event not only because it is the second such recognition by a major government, but also because it makes our products and services available to an entirely new market sector and its customer base."

The IPPP is jointly managed by CSE and Public Works and Government Services Canada ("PWGSC") and is aimed at pre-qualifying a range of information technology security ("ITS") products to meet Canadian Government requirements for the protection of information and for the authorization and authentication of electronic business transactions.

"We are very pleased with the results of our extensive testing and validation activities, and of the subsequent pre-qualification of Kasten Chase's RASP Secure Access and RASP Secure Media products," stated Dr. Simon Gauthier, Deputy Chief, Information Technology Security at CSE. "The availability of these high-assurance data security products for protecting the Canadian Government's sensitive and mission critical data is extremely timely. It will satisfy a rapidly growing need for advanced levels of security."

"We believe the Government of Canada represents a sizeable market opportunity and view CSE's pre-qualification as a further validation of the growing demand for our unique brand of high-assurance security solutions within the government market," added Mr. Ducat.

About RASP Secure Solutions

Certified by the U.S. National Security Agency and pre-qualified by the Canadian Communications Security Establishment, RASP Secure Access(TM) is the first complete remote access security solution designed to access and protect Government mission-critical information. In addition, when used in accordance with NSA policies and guidelines, RASP Secure Access may be used to protect Classified (up to and including the Secret-level) and Sensitive But Unclassified (SBU) data.

Portable and cost-effective, RASP Secure Access provides remote laptop users with secure, dial-up connections to local-area networks (LANs) from any location that offers a connection to the local telephone service. These remote users can access the same services available to users attached locally to the LAN. RASP Secure Access is a multi-faceted remote access security solution, providing user authentication and link encryption. It prevents unauthorized network access and protects against intercept attacks on data transmitted over public telephone lines.

RASP Secure Media(TM) is the only NSA-certified data-protection application that ensures the confidentiality and integrity of information stored on a personal computer. Also pre-qualified by the Canadian Communications Security Establishment, RASP Secure Media encrypts sensitive data stored on the PCs hard disk and removable media, including the operating system, system files, applications and user data. It protects all sensitive information stored on laptop and desktop PCs, and it works in conjunction with RASP Secure Access to safeguard sensitive data downloaded from government networks.

To learn more, please visit www.rasp4secret.com.

About Kasten Chase

Kasten Chase is focused on providing technology for the purposes of delivering advanced, fully integrated data communications solutions in the areas of data security, Internet access and wireless data communications. The company is headquartered in Toronto, Canada with U.S. offices located in Reston, Virginia.

For further information, visit www.kastenchase.com.

About the Communications Security Establishment The Communications Security Establishment (CSE) is a federal government lead agency that delivers Information Technology Security (ITS) solutions to the government of Canada. The Information Technology Security (ITS) mission of the Communications Security Establishment (CSE) is to provide leadership and services that help protect sensitive information, electronic business transactions and information infrastructures of interest to the Government of Canada. As a leader in ITS in Canada, the Communications Security Establishment has the latest information and tools to assist IT and ITS professionals to protect their computer and information systems.

For further information, visit www.cse-cst.gc.ca