nCipher's DSE200 Is the First Security Appliance to Provide Time-Stamping Capabilities for Microsoft Authenticode.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- nCipher's DSE200 evaluated by Microsoft to time-stamp all Microsoft published software

nCipher plc (LSE: NCH), a leading provider of cryptographic IT security solutions, today announced that Microsoft is evaluating nCipher's DSE200(TM) security appliance for use with Authenticode time-stamping for eventual validation. The use of DSE200 in conjunction with Microsoft Authenticode technology provides vendors with a greatly streamlined solution for releasing their software and code to market while giving their users a permanent means of verifying the software's authenticity.

Microsoft Authenticode technology is freely available to software vendors through the Windows platform and allows them to digitally sign their products. Digital signatures provide a widely-recognized, proven way to establish the software's authenticity and expose any attempt to tamper with the code. However, unlike physical signatures, the certificates used for digital signatures have a finite life and expire, often long before the code itself becomes obsolete. For this reason the additional use of a time-stamp is required to ensure that the signature can always be validated even after the original certificate used for the signature has expired. Microsoft Windows allows time-stamping through the Authenticode technology. DSE 200's support for this technology also adds the incremental benefit of hardware security.

The signature and time-stamp that Authenticode appends to downloadable software is used by Microsoft Internet Explorer to identify the publisher of the software and to determine its authenticity. If either the identity is invalid or the software has been tampered with, Internet Explorer warns users that the code may not be safe and recommends that the end-user not execute the software. The use of a trusted time-stamp reduces the trauma and support costs associated with false alarms simply resulting from the expiration of the original signature.

"There is no doubt that the use of Authenticode will become even more prevalent and valuable as software providers increasingly distribute software online rather than as a pre-packaged shrink-wrapped product," says Alan Lewis, product manager at nCipher. "We are excited to provide software vendors with a means to help protect their brand and deliver tangible security benefits to their customers. We are also pleased that Microsoft has chosen to evaluate the DSE200 for its own Authenticode time-stamping operations."

"Customers have told us that Authenticode is critical technology for helping to build confidence and trust in computing," said Selena Wilson, director, Microsoft Security Business & Technology Unit. "The ability to download software and execute the signing and time-stamping functions through a hardware security appliance like nCipher's DSE200 adds incremental security, giving software vendors more flexibility and efficiency in delivering solutions to customers."

Microsoft and nCipher have also published a whitepaper entitled "Deploying Authenticode with cryptographic hardware for secure software publishing" which outlines best practice for signing and time-stamping Authenticode. nCipher is also 'Microsoft Security Solution of the Year 2004'.

To request a copy of the whitepaper please mail [e-mail]

About nCipher

nCipher is redefining cryptographic security to protect points of risk across the enterprise - from network appliances to Web servers, to custom software applications and back-end databases. nCipher provides hardware and software solutions that enable organisations to implement best practice security by addressing the challenges of cryptographic key management and performance. Many of the world's leading organisations - from Microsoft and Barclays Bank to PricewaterhouseCoopers and the U.S. Navy - rely on nCipher to deliver a sound e-security infrastructure. nCipher's products are particularly well suited to organisations with high volumes of security-sensitive transactions, such as banking and financial institutions, government departments, e-retailers and online service providers. nCipher is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE:NCH) and is a member of the FTSE TechMARK and FTSE4Good indices with offices in Cambridge, UK; Boston, Washington, Hamburg and Tokyo. For more information on nCipher, visit www.ncipher.com

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