SPYRUS to Provide Security Infrastructure for First Contactless Biometric Based Physical Access Demonstration for the DoD Common Access Card Program.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 3, 2003

SPYRUS, Inc., a leading provider of identity management solutions to the U.S. Department of Defense, announced today that a team, led by BearingPoint, Inc. (NYSE:BE), including SPYRUS, has been selected as the sole recipient of a $1.2 million CAC-C contract by the Department of Defense (DoD) Biometrics Management Office (BMO). SPYRUS and the BearingPoint team will develop a solution in 90 days that could greatly enhance physical security through the use of biometrics and first usage of X.509 attribute certificates with the Common Access Card (CAC).

The CAC-C contract is the third in a series of consecutive demonstrations conducted by the DoD to assess the value of integrating biometrics with the DoD Common Access Card smart card technology. The BearingPoint team is the only team which has been awarded all three demonstrations conducted by the DoD. SPYRUS also participated with BearingPoint on the successful CAC-A and CAC-B predecessor projects delivered in August and November 2002. By integrating the use of biometrics with the use of contactless smart cards in the physical access control environment, the demonstration will evaluate several alternatives for improving security in fixed and mobile environments.

"This contract is very significant for SPYRUS, BearingPoint and the DoD as it leverages the deployment of the Common Access Card by the DoD and its associated middleware," said Tom Dickens, COO of SPYRUS. "The SPYRUS Rosetta CSI middleware for CAC will be enhanced to integrate biometric template information within a digitally signed attribute certificate. As a result, individuals can be authenticated with a high degree of assurance, even in a roving environment such as on a flight-line, authenticating authorized individuals in a crowd control environment; as well as in a standard turnstile or door access control mode. We anticipate that the DoD, local law enforcement and corporate security officers will be very interested in this advanced type of product solution for secure physical access control with biometric enhanced authentication."

SPYRUS played a significant role in the technical design of the BearingPoint team solution that includes working with the DoD Biometrics Fusion Center (BFC) located in North Central West Virginia, to evaluate the potential use of contactless smart card and biometric technologies with the department's Common Access Card in a physical access environment. SPYRUS will supply the SPYRUS PKI and Attribute Authority integrated with biometric technologies to provide the seamless introduction of contactless technologies with biometric templates and attribute certificates in physical access systems. This will be the first use of X9.84 templates signed and used as an attribute certificate to identify an individual for physical access. The use of an attribute certificate, one of the first major applications for attribute authorities in the industry, will enable one agency to issue (or revoke) the basic identity certificate, a different organization to issue the biometric credentials and a third organization to determine who is allowed and when, access to what facilities.

In addition, Rosetta CSI Bio and the FIPS 140-1 Level 3 Rosetta USB products are used to secure communications between the biometric reader and biometric server, as well as encrypting biometric templates. Specifically, the solution will demonstrate the use of the attributes on a contactless card, at a physical access reader, in a control panel for physical access, and on a unique manned portable unit that will permit spot-checking of individuals remotely on a base or in a facility.

About SPYRUS

SPYRUS, Inc., based in San Jose, California, delivers complete high assurance lifecycle identity management solutions for the government and corporate markets. These user-friendly solutions safeguard computer and network resources while simplifying administration, reducing cost-of-ownership, and raising overall security assurance levels, specifically for Microsoft platforms. The Company is a leading U.S. based provider of FIPS 140-1 Level 2 and Level 3 smart tokens and Rosetta CSI software; software that supports multiple high assurance smart tokens and provides public key security to secure biometrics for transmission or storage. www.spyrus.com