Multi-Card Accelerator from SPYRUS is Hardware Cryptographic Digital Signature Server Solution; Scaleable, High-Assurance Certification Authority, Remote Access, and Other Digital Content Signing Applications Now Enabled.SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 27 1997--SPYRUS(R) announced today the Multi-Card Accelerator (MCA MCA in full Music Corporation of America Entertainment conglomerate. It was founded in Chicago in 1924 by Jules Stein as a talent agency. In the 1960s it bought Decca Records and Universal Pictures, and today it produces films, music, and television shows. ), a new high-assurance cryptographic server hardware product designed for applications that require high-capacity digital signature and signature verification operations. The MCA is based on the EES See Skipjack algorithm. LYNKS Privacy Card(TM), the de facto standard Hardware or software that is widely used, but not endorsed by a standards organization. Contrast with de jure standard. de facto standard - A widespread consensus on a particular product or protocol which has not been ratified by any official standards body, such as ISO, in PC card hardware cryptographic modules. Using industry standard RSA (1) (Rural Service Area) See MSA. (2) (Rivest-Shamir-Adleman) A highly secure cryptography method by RSA Security, Inc., Bedford, MA (www.rsa.com), a division of EMC Corporation since 2006. It uses a two-part key. technology, the MCA is designed for server/infrastructure products that require high-speed digital signature performance, such as certification authorities and other high-volume signature and signature verification applications. "The use of hardware-based cryptographic devices is predicted to explode in 1997 as hardware-ready RSA-enabled products begin reaching critical mass in corporate markets," said Jim Bidzos, president of RSA Data Security, Inc. "SPYRUS' early leadership in this critical marketplace should provide them with a strong position." The use of public key based digital signatures in today's information processing information processing: see data processing. information processing Acquisition, recording, organization, retrieval, display, and dissemination of information. Today the term usually refers to computer-based operations. systems is essential to providing the critical security services Security services are state institutions for the provision of intelligence, primarily of a strategic nature, but also including protective security intelligence. Examples include the Security Service (MI5) and the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) in the United Kingdom, and the of authentication, integrity, and non-repudiation. Server applications that perform digital signature require a high-assurance cryptographic implementation to maintain the security posture of the supported application system. "Software-based cryptographic implementations rely on storage of private key information within the server host, exposing the private key to attack from both local and network hackers," said Sue Pontius, SPYRUS CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. . "The core EES LYNKS Privacy Cards used as signature engine components within the MCA provide cryptographic and tamper- resistant protection against such threats. The incremental scaleability of the MCA provides an organization with the ability to support greater demands for digital signature services The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. Please help [ improve the introduction] to meet Wikipedia's layout standards. You can discuss the issue on the talk page. in the future." Multi-Card Accelerator Features The MCA is an integrated hardware and software product that provides a server-based solution for scaleable, high-capacity signature generation and verification based on the EES LYNKS Privacy Card technology. The essential security features of this technology are: private key generation in hardware; tamper-resistant and cryptographically protected private key storage; and secure on-card cryptographic processing. The MCA supports both RSA and DSA (1) (Directory Server Agent) An X.500 program that looks up the address of a recipient in a Directory Information Base (DIB), also known as white pages. It accepts requests from the Directory User Agent (DUA) counterpart in the workstation. digital signature algorithms. The base product is a pedestal-mounted device containing 4 EES LYNKS Privacy Cards, with a built-in capacity for up to 10 cards. The MCA solution provides the user with a standard configuration and the capability to add cards as performance needs increase. Applications SPYRUS is targeting the MCA server product to applications requiring secure, scaleable digital signature support such as certification authority, remote access, and other digital content signature applications. MCA provides application developers with an off-the-shelf solution to high-capacity digital signature operations in hardware. Certification authority infrastructures, such as those being developed for SET, require a scaleable, hardware cryptographic signature solution. "Due to the scaleable performance offered by the MCA, GTE GTE General Telephone & Electronics GTE Génie Thermique et Énergie (French) GTE Gas Turbine Engine GTE Global Tropospheric Experiment GTE Geothermal Energy GTE Gas Turbine Efficiency plc (Sweden & USA) has selected this product as the basis for the MasterCard and American Express American Express (NYSE: AXP), sometimes known as "AmEx" or "Amex", is a diversified global financial services company, headquartered in New York City. The company is best known for its credit card, charge card and traveler's cheque businesses. certificate management system implementations for SET," said Tom Carty, vice president of marketing and business development at GTE. "This SPYRUS technology has enabled CyberTrust to support the digital signature requirements of the credit card industry now and in the future." Gina Jorasch, director of product marketing at VeriSign commented, "MCA's hardware-based support for RSA digital signature technology provides a high-assurance product for certification authorities that must scale to support millions of clients." An MCA-enabled server can also be used to support secure remote access to corporate information resources (1) The data and information assets of an organization, department or unit. See data administration. (2) Another name for the Information Systems (IS) or Information Technology (IT) department. See IT. . Mutual authentication Mutual authentication or two-way authentication refers to two parties authenticating each other suitably. In technology terms, it refers to a client or user authenticating themselves to a server and that server authenticating itself to the user in such a way that both of client and server using industry standard public key certificates provides a strong and reliable infrastructure for remote access to a server and to the data assets of a corporate infrastructure. An MCA-enabled server can be used also within a corporate environment to support digital content signing services for functions such as timestamping, establishing privileges, signing time records and expense reports, granting general authorizations, processing travel requests, and any other application that has historically required a "wet" signature. "Since the EES LYNKS Privacy Card used with the MCA can manage up to 50 keys/certificate profiles, the MCA can be used in multi-application environments requiring many distinct digital signature services," said Bill Bialick, technical director at SPYRUS. Scaleable High-Assurance Infrastructure Support The MCA provides a solution to today's most pressing issues in information security systems: threat of private key access on an open server, threat of easily modified host-based processing, and the need for a secure, scaleable solution for operational deployments. With the MCA, all private keys are generated and retained within the confines of the tamper-resistant EES LYNKS Privacy Cards. All security-sensitive processing is also performed within the closed processing environment of the card. Cost-Effective Performance Through the addition of EES LYNKS Privacy Cards to the MCA, further improvement in signature and verification performance can be achieved. For certification authority applications, the base MCA configuration with 4 cards can support greater than 10,000 signing operations per hour (RSA 1024 bit signature) and greater than 140,000 signing operations per hour (DSA 1024 bit signature). The base MCA configuration is the most scaleable, cost-effective solution available in the industry today. Mature Software Development Kit for Integrators SPYRUS provides application developers with a software developer's kit See SDK. (SDK (Software Developer's Kit) See developer's toolkit and Windows SDK. SDK - Software Developers Kit (or "Software Development Kit"). ) for interface to the services of the MCA. The MCA SDK is based on the host-based SPEX/API used for single EES LYNKS Privacy Card interface, and the new SPEX/mca plug-in used to manage a pool of EES LYNKS Privacy Cards. The SPEX/API, available since Q2 1994 and delivered to more than 40 developer licensees, is a mature and proven environment for developer integration. The SPEX/mca plug-in provides the application with the ability to simultaneously process multiple signature operations. The MCA SDK includes the SPEX/API and SPEX/mca plug-in object code, API documentation, test tools, integration support, and one year of maintenance support. For pricing, please visit our website. SPYRUS also offers technical consulting services to aid in the integration of the MCA with application server products. EES LYNKS Privacy Card Core Technology The EES LYNKS Privacy Card is the core technology of the MCA. SPYRUS' EES LYNKS Privacy Card is a PC card-based cryptographic module that implements multiple U.S. Government and commercial key transport, encryption, key wrap Key Wrap constructions are a class of symmetric encryption algorithms designed to encapsulate (encrypt) cryptographic key material. The Key Wrap algorithms are intended for applications such as (a) protecting keys while in untrusted storage, or (b) transmitting keys over untrusted , hash, and digital signature algorithms-including RSA technologies-in tamper-resistant hardware. This technology enables an application developer to implement these cryptographic algorithms in easily modified or bypassed software without having to manage the complexities of implementation. The use of hardware cryptographic modules provides security in key generation and storage and cryptographic processing, mobility for client environments, and multi-application manageability in situations where multiple keys/certificates are stored in the token. About SPYRUS SPYRUS is a leading provider of high-assurance hardware cryptographic products that are Algorithm Agile(TM) and form factor independent. SPYRUS' products provide encryption, digital signature, access control, and metering solutions for Corporate IS, WWW/Internet and Intranet Applications, Electronic Commerce, and Government applications. The Company's core products are built around its SPEX/ library, a host-based API that supports application integration with a suite of hardware cryptographic products. SPYRUS cryptographic products are intended for use with security- sensitive applications; protocols such as SET, SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) The leading security protocol on the Internet. Developed by Netscape, SSL is widely used to do two things: to validate the identity of a Web site and to create an encrypted connection for sending credit card and other personal data. , and S/MIME See MIME. ; and Microsoft(R) Authenticode(TM) technology. The Company's products are used with a variety of certificate authority products to provide critical infrastructure support for issuance and management of a deployed hardware token community. Founded in 1992, SPYRUS is headquartered in San Jose, California San Jose (IPA: /ˌsænhoʊˈzeɪ/) is the third-largest city in California, and the tenth-largest in the United States. It is the county seat of Santa Clara County. and has branch offices in Columbia, Maryland Columbia is a census-designated place and planned community in Howard County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Baltimore, and, to a lesser degree, Washington, DC. It began with the idea that a city could enhance its residents' quality of life. and Waltham, Massachusetts. -0- Note to Editors: SPYRUS(R) is a registered trademark of SPYRUS. SPEX/(TM), Algorithm Agile(TM), and LYNKS Privacy Card(TM) are trademarks of SPYRUS. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. CONTACT: SPYRUS Charles Walton, 617/647-7676 Email: server@spyrus.com WWW WWW or W3: see World Wide Web. (World Wide Web) The common host name for a Web server. The "www-dot" prefix on Web addresses is widely used to provide a recognizable way of identifying a Web site. : http://www.spyrus.com |
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