Embrace Adds Key Security Feature to Its Device Brokerage Platform; Security is Critical for the Coming ''Internet of Devices''.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 6, 2003

Embrace Networks, Inc., an emerging leader in infrastructure for the extended Internet, has announced that an important, new security capability has been added to its unique Device Brokerage Platform. The Device Brokerage Platform, which was announced last fall, is a turnkey software platform that provides for the rapid incorporation of virtually any device, machine, instrument or appliance into the business or operational infrastructure of an enterprise via the Internet. By adding enhanced security, the Device Brokerage Platform is addressing a key requirement for the coming "Internet of devices."

"We can envision a time, in the not too distant future, when there will be as many as 10 billion devices connected to business applications and processes via the Internet," said Maria Martinez, Embrace's president and CEO. "With such a vast number of exposed nodes, it becomes critically important that security is built into the extended Internet infrastructure, not just as an afterthought." According to Martinez, representative devices include biometric scanners, energy management sensors and controls, premise access controllers, time, and attendance devices, barcode scanners and other data input devices for manufacturing or retail, devices with consumables such as printers, vending machines or ticket dispensers, or PDAs and SmartPhones. "Varying degrees of security will be crucial for each of these devices and the environment in which they are used," she said.

The Device Brokerage Platform generates a new layer to the Internet infrastructure that "mediates" the interconnection with and interaction between large numbers and types of devices, machines or instruments, and applications, as well as provides a complete device management infrastructure. With the new security capability, Embrace supports the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) with multiple key lengths; MD5 authentication is also available. Embrace's MicroClient allows the Device Brokerage Platform to provide mediated end-to-end security, even for very low-cost or limited resource devices which can use the Platform's "per message" encryption capability to optimize device performance. Moreover, because of the design of Embrace's platform, the level of security implemented in any particular network of devices can be determined by the network designer.

AES, a standard sponsored by the National Institutes of Standards and Technology for protecting data through encryption, has been developed to replace the Data Encryption Standard (DES). AES offers higher performance encryption than DES for the same key size, making it well suited for device applications. In addition, AES offers a larger key size than DES, while ensuring that the only known approach to decrypt a message is for an intruder to try every possible key; it has a variable length key--the algorithm can specify a 128-bit key (the default), a 192-bit key, or a 256-bit key. The Device Brokerage Platform supports all three key lengths.

The MD5 algorithm is a compact algorithm designed for digital signature and authentication applications. The algorithm's efficiency makes it well suited for device applications, especially those where resources on the device are limited. The Device Brokerage Platform supports bi-directional message digest authentication, allowing the initiator and recipient to mutually verify the authenticity of received messages. In addition, per packet data integrity can be verified with MD5, ensuring the transfer of critical information between devices and applications without corruption.

About Embrace Networks, Inc.

Embrace is the inventor of the Device Brokerage Platform, a comprehensive, general-purpose software platform that enables the simple management and dynamic integration of nearly unlimited numbers and types of electronic devices by or into remotely-located software applications through the medium of the Internet.

The Device Brokerage Platform creates the required infrastructure for a device-centric or "extended" Internet ecology through the medium of "brokers" -- powerful, secure, cooperating software services that decouple physical devices from applications while dynamically managing the context of all interactions.

The platform is a total, end-to-end, extended Internet solution that includes software tools to create and customize brokerage services, management consoles for device management, a configurable adapter for use with non-Internet devices, firmware for native device integration, and administration tools.

Embrace is an expansion-stage, venture-backed company located in Sunnyvale, Calif., with a development center in Naperville, Ill. Its products are being deployed worldwide by well-known stakeholders in the extended Internet. To date, the company has raised in excess of $28 million. Investors include August Capital, JP Morgan, Intel, Thales, Crystal Internet Ventures and TechFund. The company has less than 50 employees. Its URL is www.embracenetworks.com.

Editors' Note: All trademarks and registered trademarks are those of their respective companies.

Additional background information is available at www.roeder-johnson.com.