Certicom and Schlumberger Develop Digital Signature Smart Card; Elliptic Curve Cryptosystem-Enabled Technology Offers Low-Cost Solution for Rapid Deployment.

LOS ALTOS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 18, 1997--Certicom Corp. (Canadian Dealing Network:CERT.), a leading provider of cryptographic technologies and information security products, today announced the development of a smart card that provides user identification and authentication through the use of digital signatures.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB), one of the world's largest suppliers of smart cards, will provide the card body, core operating system, and integration services for this initiative. Certicom will provide the card's cryptographic engine which uses the Elliptic Curve Cryptosystem (ECC), an advanced public-key algorithm.

Certicom's ECC -- enabling strong, high-speed computations -- will be integrated into Schlumberger's versatile Multiflex smart card. A cryptographic co-processor will not be required because Certicom's implementation techniques permit the efficient use of ECC for digital signatures in small footprint environments, such as smart cards.

The result will be a cost-effective solution and quick time-to- market for the deployment of signature cards in applications such as Internet access control and electronic commerce.

"The proliferation of commerce-related Internet and Intranet applications has resulted in a market need for strong enduser authentication," said Gary Hughes, president and CEO, Certicom. "By implementing the ECC algorithm to create digital signatures in a conventional chip, Certicom and Schlumberger will enable organizations to offer smart card solutions for a broad range of applications."

Ensuring a participant in a transaction is really who he or she claims to be is an important tool in the fight against fraud. In the electronic exchange of data, public-key cryptography permits the identity of participants and the integrity of data to be verified.

This is accomplished with the use of digital signatures which are a function of the data being transmitted and the sender's private key. Any changes to the data by hackers cause perceivable changes to the signature. The message recipient is offered a higher level of assurance than possible in a software-only implementation because the user's private key is securely stored on a hardware token, such as a smart card.

"The rapid development of new digital delivery channels, such as the Internet and wireless communications systems, creates new needs for secure and cost effective solutions," said Nadaradjane Ramatchandirane, Schlumberger's smart card technology development director in North America.

"Certicom's ECC is an attractive cryptographic technology because of its strength and efficiency. We have worked closely with Certicom to bring prototype products quickly to market," Ramatchandirane added.

"The combination of public-key and smart card technologies offer an ideal solution for many applications requiring strong authentication," said Lisa Pretty, Certicom's director of strategic development.

"The card is designed to provide flexibility and allows easy integration through features such as optional PIN access protection, a customizable identification data structure, ISO7816-3 card communications, and the use of the Schlumberger Multiflex development card."

Pretty added, "OEMs will be able to quickly develop secure applications using Certicom's Elliptic Curve software tools and the signature generation card. OEMs will be able to quickly develop secure applications using Certicom's Elliptic Curve software tools and the digital signature smart card."

ECC has the highest strength-per-bit of any known public-key system, minimizing the requirement for large key sizes. Cryptographic processes based on ECC provide efficient computational techniques and low overhead for encryption, digital signatures, and key management. ECC draft standards are currently under review by: IEEE, ANSI, ISO, IETF, and the ATM Forum.

Schlumberger Smart Cards and Systems is a division of Schlumberger Electronic Transactions group of Schlumberger, Ltd. (NYSE:SLB). The company supplies cards, terminals, and management systems across the entire range of chip and magnetic card applications.

As the industry's only single-source supplier, the company provides cards and systems for telecommunications, retail and banking, retail petroleum, parking and mass transit ticketing systems, health care records and for closed communities such as corporate and college campuses.

The company produces hundreds of millions of cards annually as both private and government sectors move toward cashless transactions.

Certicom is a leading provider of cryptographic technologies and information security products. As the leader in implementations of the Elliptic Curve Cryptosystem (ECC), Certicom specializes in applications where the combination of cryptographic strength and high efficiency are critical.

Certicom markets hardware and software components which will allow OEMs to integrate ECC into their products. Certicom also develops and markets an advanced line of fax security products and provides remote banking security solutions to the financial industry. Certicom's primary markets are in wireless, smart cards, banking and electronic commerce over the Internet and Public Switched Telephone Networks. Certicom shares are quoted on the Canadian Dealing Network under the symbol "CERT." -0-

Note to Editors: Visit Certicom's home page at www.certicom.com

CONTACT: Certicom Corp.

Kim Morningstar, 905/507-4220

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or

Miller/Shandwick Technologies (for Certicom)

Sheri Dupart/Anne Gowan, 415/962-9550

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or

Environics Communications (for Shlumberger)

Deb Montner, 203/325-8772 ext. 14

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