Certicom Elliptic Curve Engine Embedded Within Siemens' Latest Smart Card IC; Joint Development Effort Announced at CardTech/SecurTech '97.

ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 21, 1997--Certicom Corp., a leading provider of cryptographic technologies, and Siemens Semiconductor Group, a leading provider of smart card integrated circuits (ICs), today announced the integration of the two companies technologies to create a smart card IC with strong authentication capability. Siemens' new smart card IC from the SLE 66CX family, is used as the implementation platform. Certicom is one of the first to work with the new Siemens device and will provide an optimzed version of the elliptic curve-based cryptographic engine, (CE)2.

For the first time in smart card history, a chip offers memory capacities of 32 Kbyte ROM, 16 Kbyte EEPROM and 2 Kbyte of on-board RAM. The device is based on a new and dedicated 16-bit smart card CPU, achieving high-speed operation that exceeds standard 8051-performance by a factor of six while significantly reducing the power consumption. Powerful on-chip peripherals, such as a noise generator, creating true random numbers are also integrated in the hardware. These new features result in a platform that is well suited for the implementation of public-key functions such as digital signatures and on-card key generation using (CE)2.

"The demand for strong security in a smart card is growing rapidly as additional applications for these devices are introduced," said Philip C. Deck, president & CEO of Certicom. "Siemens' new smart card IC provides an ideal architecture for implementing (CE)2. We are excited to be partnering with Siemens for this initiative and believe that the joint development will address the market demand for strong, fast public-key capability for smart cards," added Mr. Deck.

In order for smart cards to be widely deployed for identity, financial and other applications, sophisticated security techniques must be available and efficient. In the electronic exchange of data, public-key cryptography permits the identity of participants and the integrity of data to be verified through the use of digital signatures. (CE)2 is an ideal public-key technology for smart cards. As the stronger, faster, smaller engine, (CE)2 requires less space for key storage and can execute cryptographic functions in less time than other public-key systems - leaving more space and for the primary application and maximizing performance.

"Siemens is pleased to contribute the SLE 66CX family as the new hardware platform for Certicom's elliptic curve implementation," said Ulrich Hamann, vice president and general manager of Siemens Chip Card ICs and Ident System ICs. "We strongly believe that Elliptic Curve Cryptosystems (ECC) will play a major role in public-key cryptography and look forward to working with Certicom."

With annual sales of approximately US $60 billion in fiscal year 1995/96, Siemens is one of the world's largest electronic and electrical companies. Employing 379,000 people, the company concentrates its activities in the major business segments of energy, industry, communications, transportation, healthcare, information systems and electronic components. In this latter area, Siemens Semiconductors is second in the list of European semiconductor manufacturers and, in terms of technology, is one of the leading microelectronics companies worldwide. With a yearly output of more than half a billion chip card ICs, Siemens Semiconductors is the world's leading manufacturer of components of this kind. Siemens Chip Card ICs and Ident System ICs are used in banking, telecommunications, security access, health care, government services and transport. Siemens is a leading supplier of the high-volume German Banking project (more than 50 million cards). Its Secure Microcontrollers have achieved a leading position in the market and its Cryptocontrollers are the most powerful worldwide. One of the company's latest developments is the CombiCard IC which combines the "best of the two worlds" and features contact and contactless interfaces.

Certicom is a leading provider of cyrptographic technologies for computing and communications companies. Certicom's core technology is the Certicom Elliptic Curve Engine (CE)2 -- a stronger, faster, smaller engine that performs public-key encyrption and digital signatures required for advanced data security. (CE)2 is available for software, firmware, and integrated circuit implementations and is particularly well suited for constrained environments such as smart cards, wireless devices and high-transaction servers. Certicom's headquarters are located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, with sales and marketing operations in San Mateo, CA, and regional offices in Washington, D.C. and New York. Certicom shares are quoted on the Canadian Dealing Network under the symbol "CERT."

CONTACT: Kim Morningstar

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Certicom Corp.

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Tamara Polahar

Siemens Corporation

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