SECUDE to Introduce Identrus Security Solutions for Global PKI At SIBOS 2000.

Business Editors & Technology Writers

DARMSTADT, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--September 13, 2000

German software supplier SECUDE GmbH is one of the first companies to offer security solutions complying with the Identrus standards for a global public key infrastructure (PKI) -- a critical step in enabling secure electronic financial transactions to take place over the Internet.

SECUDE is showcasing its Identrus solutions in the Identrus LLC booth H195 at SIBOS, the world's foremost financial services event, held September 11-15, 2000 at San Francisco's Moscone Center.

Identrus is an initiative of leading international banks to establish binding standards for secure online transactions. Identrus standards ensure that the mutual electronic authentication of transactions creates an acknowledged reliability between banks and their business partners, as well as helping to streamline the procedures for conducting international business.

Digital signature technology has become very important lately to the e-community. President Clinton's recent signing of the digital signatures law promises a boost for companies who do business online, as well as spurring on the growing market for security and encryption.

The SECUDE Identrus solution, called TransFair, uses digital signatures and encryption technology to realize security features like identity, authenticity, confidentiality, and bindingness for online business processes. TransFair consists of two components: TransFair Server and TransFair Client. On the client side, it is a plug-in for Netscape Communicator or MS Internet Explorer for signing the transactions; on the server side it consists of a security library that is easily integrated into existing web applications, in particular for Internet shops and marketplaces. Signed transactions are transmitted between merchant and customer according to the Identrus requirements, and are stored checkable and audit proof, thus providing legal evidence for the affected processes.

"Building trust between trading partners is an absolute requirement for promoting global e-commerce", said Harald Giehl, CEO of SECUDE. "Through our software products, we support 100 percent partners who use the Identrus PKI."

The world's first Identrus system solution was implemented by SECUDE - in cooperation with IBM - for Deutsche Bank. Prof. Dr. Clemens Jochum, CIO GTS Consumer Banking Applications, of Deutsche Bank AG, said "From the very beginning, SECUDE was an important Identrus development partner. With high reliability and quality in an extremely innovative design, SECUDE software sets a very high standard for the industry to follow."

SECUDE Identrus solutions are also being trialed at Dresdner Bank, Hypovereinsbank and Bank of America.

About SECUDE:

SECUDE ensures e-security for e-business. SECUDE GmbH was founded by former employees of GMD (German National Research Center for Information Technology). The basics of SECUDE technology were developed in the early 1990s, to provide a personal security environment able to manage all necessary security functionality.

For the development of its system solutions, SECUDE has cooperated successfully with integration partners IBM and Arthur Andersen. SECUDE is also a development partner of SAP AG. "SECUDE for R/3" is the world's first security software officially certified by SAP. Since February 1999, emagine GmbH, a Deutsche Bank group member, has been a majority shareholder of SECUDE.

About SECUDE Technology:

Because the architecture is based on a modular design and mutual independence between the core cryptographic functions, the user-dependent personal security environment and the application integration are cornerstones of the SECUDE development strategy. This makes it possible to switch the private key medium, to include new standards into the software modules, or to quickly integrate SECUDE into new applications. Through the use of advanced smart card systems, cryptographic secrets are protected against any attacks. Thus, security with complete mobility is possible.

About Identrus:

Founded in 1999, Identrus is an initiative of leading world banks, with the aim of establishing internationally binding standards for secure online transactions. Today Identrus defines a globally uniform public key infrastructure (PKI) that permits world wide e-business at all levels.