Diversinet Sets New Benchmark For Wireless Security Industry.

Business Editors

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 21, 2001

Diversinet (NASDAQ:DVNT)

Revolutionary and Industry-Unique Certificate Server Product Incorporates the Best Features of RSA and ECC Encryption Technology on

a Single Server- Bridging the Wired and Wireless Worlds

Diversinet Corp. (NASDAQ Small Cap: DVNT), a leading provider of m-commerce security infrastructure solutions, today announced the launch of its new Passport Certificate Server(R) V4.1.

Diversinet's new Passport Certificate Server V4.1 is a revolutionary new product that combines the strengths of both RSA and ECC encryption technologies to produce a single wireless security infrastructure that supports multiple wireless devices with different cryptographic libraries.

RSA public-key encryption algorithm is considered the standard for encryption and the core technology that secures the vast majority of e-business on the Internet. Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) encryption algorithms offer similar security to the RSA public-key encryption algorithms, except that they have reduced key sizes, which is especially useful in wireless applications where memory, bandwidth, and computational power are limited.

Diversinet's new Passport Certificate Server V4.1 incorporates both RSA and ECC encryption algorithms. By utilising both encryption algorithms, the new version supports devices that run on both RSA and ECC encryption technologies. This support for multiple cryptographic libraries on one server enables the server to use RSA encryption to interoperate with Internet-based applications and take advantage of established RSA infrastructure and hardware security module (HSM) support, as well as ECC encryption technology to ensure fast signing of digital signatures on devices. The new mobile client has the ability to digitally sign using ECC or RSA and to verify RSA signed certificates on all devices from a single Certificate Authority (CA).

The new release also includes a number of improvements based on valuable customer feedback. New device application program interfaces (APIs) allow quicker integration of the Diversinet client into wireless applications. The new developer toolkit gives developers all of the tools necessary to easily integrate Diversinet's wireless security solution into applications at both the server and client levels. Also, a simplified user registration process and server side APIs allow seamless integration with existing wireless gateways.

"By integrating our Wireless Gateway with the Diversinet Certificate Server we now have the ability to provide a maximum level of security for the data transferred by our applications over the wireless networks," said Cornel Fota, Chief Technical Officer for Semotus Solutions. "We are very impressed with Diversinet's ability to respond to our requirements and develop powerful APIs which allow us to deploy fully secure solutions over our existing software infrastructure."

The Passport Certificate Server V4.1 has many advancements in Registration Authority (RA) capabilities. The new version allows application providers to register customer lists in bulk and deploy local registration agents in kiosks or mobile operator outlets. By using this new version, RAs can bulk register multiple mobile devices to meet mobile operator's requirements. Also, a simple user interface for registration on handsets and the ability to access a stored user profile minimises user data entry.

The new version also offers support for deploying many different secured applications with one Diversinet Application Front End (AFE). The Diversinet AFE is server or toolkit based and is designed to provide rapid application deployment. Certificates issued by a Diversinet CA can provide authentication to many Diversinet-enabled secure applications. CAs and application providers can support different kinds of devices enabled by different operators or networks. This new product acts completely network/operator/device independent.

Scalability

The Passport Certificate Server 4.1 incorporates a highly scalable architecture that has increased throughput and has been tested to generate over one million certificates, making the product a true "carrier grade" solution.

Passport Certificate Server V4.1 also offers session-based computing and increased cache ability, reducing both traffic and latency. The new version allows users to conduct multiple transactions from one server without the need to continually fetch certificates for each transaction.

The client-side software offers the option to only fetch a server's certificate once and stores it in its cache memory. The increased cache ability reduces latency by fetching the certificate from the cache instead of the origin server, therefore taking less time for the client to get the certificate and display it. Not only does this reduce traffic at the server's end as the certificate is only retrieved from the server once, but it also reduces the amount of bandwidth used by a mobile client. This saves money if the client is paying by the minute, and keeps their bandwidth requirements lower and more manageable for their mobile device. More importantly, this reduced processing time meets the real-time processing expectations of users, who are used to processing transactions over speedy wired networks. On the application server end, this increased cache ability reduces investment by enterprises, as they don't have to upgrade their database or server to handle the increased number of hits.

Versatility

The Passport Certificate Server 4.1 product is designed to support multiple client operating systems, as well as server platforms such as Windows NT, UNIX (Solaris, HP-UX), and Linux. The new product supports HP Jornada PocketPC, Casio PocketPC, Compaq iPaq PocketPC, RIM V2.0 OS (RIM 957, 950, 850), and the Palm family of PDAs.

Version 4.1 also supports both WAP and non-WAP GSM phones with a WAP/SIM hybrid digital signature solution. The new SIM V2.0 [see Diversinet's February 20, 2001 press release on launch of new SIM V2.0] is based on reliable, time-tested Gemplus GemXploreTM Trust Public Key SIM card technology. The SIM fully integrates into Diversinet's application security and Public-Key Infrastructure (PKI) allowing operators and application developers to support PKI-enabled security solutions, such as digital signatures, over both WAP and non-WAP GSM phones.

Deploy Today

Important industry standards and regulatory trends will require the use of client generated digital signatures and application-level security. Diversinet's Passport Certificate Server 4.1 provides this functionality for wireless application environments today, others promise it.

"Diversinet's new Certificate Server version 4.1 is truly optimized for wireless applications," said Hussam Mahgoub, Vice President of Products, Diversinet Corp. "The new version emphasizes Diversinet's 'any where, any time' vision of security by offering the widest support of users, devices, networks, operating systems, server platforms, and encryption technologies in the industry - all from a single infrastructure."

About Diversinet Corp.

Diversinet is enabling mobile e-commerce (m-commerce) services with its wireless security infrastructure solutions. The company has recently been confirmed by the Yankee Group (reference; The Yankee Group Report: Wireless/Mobile Technologies, Vol. 1, No. 7, September 2000, by Emily Williams and David Berndt), as having the leading product technology for the delivery of end-to-end wireless security infrastructure solutions to wireless device makers, ASPs and operators, application software developers and network infrastructure providers. For more information on Diversinet, visit the company's web site at www.dvnet.com.

The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" for forward-looking statements. Certain information included in this press release (as well as information included in oral statements or other written statements made or to be made by the company) contains statements that are forward-looking, such as statements relating to anticipated future revenues of the company and success of current product offerings. Such forward-looking information involves important risks and uncertainties that could significantly affect anticipated results in the future and, accordingly, such results may differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of the company. For a description of additional risks and uncertainties, please refer to the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.