Encryption and Biometric Technology Partnership Breeds New Generation of Secure External Data Storage Products.MILPITAS, Calif. -- Collaboration between storage controller manufacturer Oxford Semiconductor and fingerprint authentication solution provider UPEK UPEK User Password Encryption Key [R], Inc. has produced the world's first complete reference design for encrypted external disk drives protected by biometric authentication See biometrics. . The design is expected to facilitate faster and simpler deployment of new generations of storage products. The announcement comes at a time when the number of reported high-profile data thefts is increasing substantially and data protection laws throughout the world have begun advocating increased levels of protection for highly sensitive Adj. 1. highly sensitive - readily affected by various agents; "a highly sensitive explosive is easily exploded by a shock"; "a sensitive colloid is readily coagulated" business and customer data, and personal identity details. The Oxford-UPEK reference design employs a secure, hardware-based architecture for user authentication See authentication. and data encryption data encryption, the process of scrambling stored or transmitted information so that it is unintelligible until it is unscrambled by the intended recipient. Historically, data encryption has been used primarily to protect diplomatic and military secrets from foreign . The first of their kind to feature an embedded hardware encryption engine, Oxford's OXU OXU Optical Transmission Unit 921DSE 1. DSE - Display Screen Equipment. See Visual Display Unit. 2. DSE - Data Structure Editor. and OXUF924DSE storage controller ICs protect disk data using the AES128 encryption algorithm A formula used to turn ordinary data, or "plaintext," into a secret code known as "ciphertext." Each algorithm uses a string of bits known as a "key" to perform the calculations. The larger the key (the more bits), the greater the number of potential patterns can be created, thus making . Access to the disk's encrypted data can only be achieved via the controller following biometric authentication using UPEK's TouchStrip[TM] Fingerprint Authentication Solution, which includes a high performance silicon sensor and a dedicated security processor. Dedicated hardware encryption and biometric authentication engines, as opposed to software based solutions, are considered to offer the highest level of security and performance available today. Biometric storage and matching are performed in a protected environment, while encryption happens in real time with no loading on the host PC. Throughput on the storage controller's FireWire800 connection has been measured at greater than 80MBytes per second, which outpaces current best in class SATA (Serial ATA) A serial version of the ATA (IDE) interface, which has been the de facto standard hard disk interface for desktop PCs for more than two decades. The original Parallel ATA (PATA) interface was launched in 1986. HDDs. The AES-128 encryption algorithm is also highly significant to the reference design. NIST (National Institute of Standards & Technology, Washington, DC, www.nist.gov) The standards-defining agency of the U.S. government, formerly the National Bureau of Standards. It is one of three agencies that fall under the Technology Administration (www.technology. certified, the algorithm enables storage manufacturers to develop products that meet FIPS-140 regulatory requirements, a prerequisite for any cryptography-based solutions used by US federal government or agencies. In addition to offering enhanced security, the Oxford-UPEK reference design simplifies the user experience by allowing users to lock and access their data with the swipe of a finger. UPEK's Protector Suite[TM] Token password bank lets users access their password-protected web accounts without having to memorize or write down their passwords. About Oxford Semiconductor Oxford Semiconductor is a global leader in storage and connectivity technology and provides a broad portfolio of semiconductor "System on Chip" products enabling electronic devices to exchange or back-up data and share resources. The company's high performance connectivity solutions are an essential ingredient in a diverse range of highly differentiated end products, from external data storage and mobile phones to printers and point-of-sale equipment. Oxford's market-leading product portfolio includes: * Direct-attached (FireWire / USB USB in full Universal Serial Bus Type of serial bus that allows peripheral devices (disks, modems, printers, digitizers, data gloves, etc.) to be easily connected to a computer. / RAID) and network-attached storage See NAS. (NAS (1) See network access server. (2) (Network Attached Storage) A specialized file server that connects to the network. A NAS device contains a slimmed-down operating system and a file system and processes only I/O requests by supporting the popular ) controllers. * Serial communication bridges for PCI (1) (Payment Card Industry) See PCI DSS. (2) (Peripheral Component Interconnect) The most widely used I/O bus (peripheral bus). , miniPCI, Compact Flash and PC Cards. * USB host, peripheral and On-The-Go controllers. * Network connectivity controllers. Founded in 1992, Oxford Semiconductor is a privately held fabless company Fabless Company The Fabless Semiconductor Association (FSA) defines fabless as follows: Fabless (without fab) refers to the business methodology of outsourcing the manufacturing of silicon wafers, which hundreds of semiconductor companies have adopted. headquartered in Milpitas, California with its key design center in Abingdon, UK and sales support offices worldwide. For more information visit http://www.oxsemi.com. About UPEK UPEK, Inc., a global leader in biometric fingerprint security solutions, offers integrated end-to-end solutions including comprehensive design and integration services to the world's leading consumer and industrial products companies. UPEK solutions enable the strongest fingerprint authentication security available, packaged for high user convenience and rapid integration into existing products and network architectures. The company has been pioneering biometric fingerprint technology since 1996 and shipping product in volume since 1999. UPEK is headquartered in Emeryville, California, with offices in Prague, Singapore, Taipei and Tokyo. For more information, please visit www.upek.com. UPEK, the UPEK logo, TouchStrip and Protector Suite are registered trademarks or trademarks of UPEK, Inc. in the United States and other countries. Forward-Looking Statements Cautionary Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA) implemented several significant substantive changes affecting certain cases brought under the federal securities laws, including changes related to pleading, discovery, liability, class representation and awards fees and of 1995: Except for the historical information contained herein, this news release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the collaboration between Oxford Semiconductor and UPEK, the development of new generations of storage products, the performance of the reference design and security levels of encryption and biometric authentication engines. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including the companies' ability to develop and launch new products, services and features on time and at acceptable margin and profit levels, the companies' ability to develop and market products that are accepted by consumers and evolving standards for cryptography-based solutions used in government applications. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, operating results, business strategy and financial needs. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including, but not limited to, those described in "Risk Factors" in UPEK's registration statement on Form S-1 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 14, 2007. No forward-looking statement is a guarantee of future performance, and you should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statement. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this press release may not occur and actual results could differ materially from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement contained in this prospectus. |
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