SPYRUS Rosetta Smart Card Expected First to Meet Government Requirements For FIPS 140-1 Level 2 Compliance.

Business Editors/High Tech Writers

RSA Conference 2000

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 18, 2000

Rosetta Smart Card Moves Into Final Stages of Compliance Testing;

Compliance Will Certify Smart Card for Use in Government and

Commercial Security Implementations

SPYRUS, the Internet ID company for secure e-business, today announced the expected FIPS 140-1 Level 2 certification of its Rosetta Smart Card, enabling the highly secure hardware token to be used in government and commercial implementations.

Smart cards, which include an embedded microprocessor to store data, are quickly being adopted by U.S. government agencies to provide highly secure identification services. The General Services Administration (GSA) has embraced the technology, recently releasing its Smart Access Common ID Card procurement to implement a solution that provides access to both physical buildings and computer systems. The Department of Defense has also mandated use of a common smart card as the standard identification card for both active duty and civilian personal. In addition to access services, the department is planning to integrate the smart cards into its public-key infrastructure (PKI) as the primary platform for authentication tokens.

To ensure the highest levels of security, the federal government has outlined in the Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) Pub 140-1 the security requirements that tokens, such as smart cards, must meet for use in government implementations, defining four levels of security. The Department of Defense has stated that all its tokens must meet Level 2 security requirements, improving physical security through the addition of tamper-evident coatings or seals. Although no smart card has yet to receive any FIPS 140-1 certification, SPYRUS is confident it will receive Level 2 certification for its Rosetta Smart Card in the first quarter of this year.

"The U.S. government clearly values the powerful protection smart cards offer versus a software-only solution," noted Sue Pontius, SPYRUS President and CEO. "We are confident that the SPYRUS Rosetta Smart Card complies with FIPS 140-1 Level 2 requirements, enabling our product to provide government systems with the highest level of security available in the industry. We also believe commercial vertical markets with requirements for auditable risk management and legal liability mitigation will require smart cards to meet the same certification standards."

"CygnaCom Solutions is in the final stages of testing the SPYRUS Rosetta Smart Card. The product is being tested for FIPS 140-1 Level 2 compliance. We anticipate that CygnaCom will be submitting the conformance report to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and to the Canadian Communications Security Establishment (CSE) by the end of January," said Miles Smid, Vice President of CygnaCom Solutions, the government accredited company conducting the FIPS 140-1 evaluation of the Rosetta Smart Card. "Formal validation of the module will not be complete until NIST and CSE perform their review and confirm the analysis."

NIST and CSE oversee the Cryptographic Module Validation Program (CMVP), created to validate commercial products for conformance to FIPS 140-1 based on independent, third party testing by accredited laboratories. FIPS 140-1 Level 2 accreditation of the Rosetta Smart Card will enable SPYRUS to tap into the more than $1 billion estimated government demand for smart cards. The U.S. government is expected to purchase between 10 million and 15 million cards over the next few years.

SPYRUS is a leading supplier of public key-based solutions that provide the critical foundation for secure Internet commerce. The company's flagship product, SPYRUS Internet Enabling Security (IES), is a comprehensive solution that gives companies the high-assurance security infrastructure required for e-business. SPYRUS IES enables companies to implement a single-vendor solution, integrating a wide range of security products -- including the SPYRUS PKI, Rosetta Smart Cards, SPYRUS Personal Access Readers, and policies and procedures 

--to meet customer needs in a timely and cost-effective manner.

The SPYRUS Rosetta Smart Card offers the highest level of personal and portable security for individual users. In addition to its tamper-evident physical design, the Rosetta Smart Card is resistant to Differential Power Analysis, protecting the private keys from external exploitation. The device is also available with proximity chips that allow users to gain physical access to buildings. Priced at less than $10 in high volumes, the Rosetta Smart Card provides a cost-effective, high-security solution.

"As a worldwide supplier of high-end security controllers for the smart card industry, Infineon Technologies is very pleased to provide SPYRUS with our advanced SLE66CX160S cryptocontroller IC," said Joerg Borchert, Infineon Technologies North America Corp. vice president for Security and Chip Card ICs. "Because SPYRUS has such a strong technology base for providing end-to-end security solutions, Infineon is excited to be working closely with them as they develop secure smart card solutions for potential deployment in the government sector."

"With our Rosetta Smart Card, we can offer a cost effective, high-value security solution that meets the government's stringent standards," Pontius added. "We look forward to receiving the FIPS 140-1 Level 2 certification in the very near future."

About SPYRUS

SPYRUS, the Internet ID Company, is the leader in securing the Internet as a medium of exchange for valued data and transactions for businesses and their customers, and for federal and local governments. SPYRUS' public key system solutions are designed for organizations that have unique business policy management requirements, valued digital information content and transactions to protect and operations that require auditable risk/liability management. SPYRUS Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) solutions have been deployed in health care, utilities, government, financial and law enforcement markets, with operational systems scalable to millions of users world-wide.

The company's flagship product line is the SYRUS Internet Enabling Security (IES) solution. SPYRUS IES is an integrated public key product suite comprised of its SPYRUS PKI, Rosetta smart cards, PAR smart card readers, cryptographic tool kits and professional services. The SPYRUS IES provides timely and cost-effective deployments with customizable public key solutions to meet unique customer and industry requirements.

SPYRUS, Inc. is headquartered in Santa Clara, California, with offices across the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia.

SPYRUS has recently been named in the latest Deloitte & Touche "Technology Fast 500" technology growth company list. For more about SPYRUS and its public key system solutions, please visit the Web site at www.spyrus.com.

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