ContactS: PatientKeeper and Certicom Join Forces to Protect the Privacy of Patient Data on Handheld Computers.

Business/Technology Editors & Health/Medical Writers

BOSTON--(BW HealthWire)--May 9, 2001

TEPR Conference, PatientKeeper, Inc., and Certicom (Nasdaq: CERT; TSE: CIC) today announced their collaboration to safeguard patient information stored on handheld computers using advanced encryption. Further, the alliance will secure the two-way transmission of vital healthcare information between handhelds and healthcare organizations' computer systems.

"Against the backdrop of President Bush's recent decision to allow the first federal standards for medical privacy to go into effect, PatientKeeper is well aware of the critical need for those standards and the implementation `pain' that they are causing healthcare organizations," asserts Gary Foster, PatientKeeper's CEO. "Incorporating innovative yet proven security technology into our products is absolutely essential to ease this pain, to give healthcare consumers as much confidence as possible that their privacy is protected, and to enable caregivers to use this groundbreaking technology--as they are already doing--to enhance the quality of care they provide."

PatientKeeper is the creator of the healthcare industry's landmark platform for mobile computing that seamlessly integrates multiple, independently authored applications. Certicom has driven market adoption of next-generation computing platforms and applications since 1985 through the development of advanced security solutions that are trusted around the world. The companies' alliance will bring advanced levels of security for privacy in mobile healthcare.

"With Certicom's industry-leading encryption technology embedded into PatientKeeper's open architecture platform, we're providing our developers with a unique solution to one of the healthcare industry's biggest mobile computing concerns," said Stephen Hau, PatientKeeper's founder and vice president of Platform Development. "To ensure compliance with state and federal regulations, the applications must provide for confidentiality, data integrity, and strong client authentication for access to sensitive medical data and patient records. Certicom's highly efficient mobile security solutions provide the necessary components of an effective and complete end-to-end mobile computing solution."

Certicom has become an innovator in the mobile healthcare market by providing advanced security solutions and services that address HIPAA compliance and by spearheading initiatives such as the Mobile Healthcare Alliance (MoHCA), which focuses on increasing the acceptance and proliferation of secure mobile and wireless computing solutions in healthcare. PatientKeeper is utilizing Certicom's industry-leading SSL Plus technology, the industry's most widely deployed commercial SSL product, which enables uncompromising security for a wide range of applications on Palm and Windows Pocket PC handhelds, smart phones, and other embedded devices connected to corporate enterprise, consumer service, and electronic commerce applications.

"PatientKeeper is clearly an industry leader in providing mobile capabilities to clinicians, institutions, and application developers," said Richard Depew, Certicom's executive vice president. "We are pleased to supply the encryption technology to secure transmission and storage of sensitive clinical data. Physicians and patients can be assured that patient medical information will remain confidential in a wireless setting because Certicom's technology provides a secure communications link, protecting information sent wirelessly from PatientKeeper's applications."

PatientKeeper has received nearly $53 million in venture funding to date, making it one of the best-financed companies in the mobile healthcare industry. Combined with a genuinely universal platform, a sound business model, and an unparalleled commitment to healthcare, this solidly positions the company to drive widespread adoption of mobile solutions in this landscape.

About PatientKeeper(TM), Inc.

PatientKeeper, Inc. (formerly The Virtmed Corporation), developers of PatientKeeper Personal(TM), the world's most widely used handheld patient management solution, allows mobile clinicians to use handheld technology to easily and immediately communicate with their organization's information systems and perform critical patient care functions. PatientKeeper is committed to creating an open architecture and universal platform for mobile healthcare computing, enabling any internal or third-party application to be seamlessly integrated on one handheld device. PatientKeeper offers a range of mobile computing solutions, including PatientKeeper Personal, the award-winning patient management tool with more than 40,000 users; ChargeKeeper(TM), for capturing billing; and LabKeeper(TM), for reviewing lab results. PatientKeeper is a privately held company.

PatientKeeper's investors include Whitney & Co., New Enterprise Associates, Frazier & Company, 3Com Corporation, Mediphase Venture Partners, Mosaix Ventures, Riggs Capital Partners, Child Health Corporation of America, Thomas Weisel Partners, Pacific Ventures Group, and Tenet Healthcare Corporation. To learn more about PatientKeeper, please visit our Web site at http://www.patientkeeper.com.

About Certicom

Certicom is a leading provider of information security software and services, specializing in solutions for mobile e-business. The company's products and services are specifically designed to address the challenges imposed by a wireless data environment. Certicom's solutions incorporate its efficient encryption technology and are based on industry standards for information security that utilize public key cryptography. Certicom's products are currently licensed to more than 150 customers including Cisco Systems Inc., Handspring Inc., Motorola, Inc., Nortel Networks, Openwave Systems, Palm, Inc., QUALCOMM, Inc., Research In Motion Ltd. and Sony International (Europe) GmbH. Certicom's headquarters and worldwide sales and marketing operations are based in the Silicon Valley in Hayward. For more information, visit Certicom's Web site at http://www.certicom.com/.

Certicom and SSL Plus are trademarks of Certicom Corp. All other companies and products listed herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

Except for historical information contained herein, this press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially. Factors that might cause a difference include, but are not limited to, those relating to the acceptance of mobile and wireless devices and the continued growth of e-commerce and m-commerce (mobile e-commerce), the increase of the demand for mutual authentication in m-commerce transactions, the acceptance of Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) technology as an industry standard, the market acceptance of our principle products and sales of our customer's products, the impact of competitive products and technologies, the possibility of our products infringing patents and other intellectual property of third parties, and costs of product development. Certicom will not update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof. More detailed information about potential factors that could affect Certicom's financial results is included in the documents Certicom files from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission and Canadian securities regulatory authorities including Certicom's current Annual Report on Form 10-K.