Excellent press release on DKEY - Murphy
3/08/00 - Datakey and CyberTrust Team with General Dynamics to Provide the Department of Defense with the Highest-Level Information
MINNEAPOLIS and NEEDHAM HEIGHTS, Mass., Mar 8, 2000 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Datakey, Inc. (Nasdaq: DKEY) (http://www.datakey.com), an international leader in smart card-based information security solutions, and CyberTrust (http://www.cybertrust.com), the leading enabler of secure extranets and e-commerce for organizations, announced that they will provide their information security technologies to the Department of Defense (DoD) for its Commercial PKI (public key infrastructure) Security Assessment Pilot.
The one-year pilot program, which will be implemented by General Dynamics Communication Systems, is designed to help the DoD evaluate the feasibility of having commercial organizations provide high-assurance (Class 4) digital certificates to the DoD and other government agencies. Datakey smart cards form an important component of the DoD pilot because Class-4 certificates must be stored on cryptographic hardware tokens such as smart cards. A private key, the private portion of a user's digital credentials, is generated and permanently stored on the Datakey smart card, and all encryption using the private key is performed on the card so the key is never available for someone to steal or copy.
The players
* General Dynamics Communication Systems (NYSE: GD) will conduct the pilot
under direction from the DoD, allowing federal users to securely and
privately exchange information through the use of high-assurance digital
certificates provided by commercial organizations. General Dynamics
will implement the PKI, issue digital certificates to users at selected
federal agencies and support the DoD in assessing the PKI pilot once
completed.
* CyberTrust will provide the digital certificates, which can be compared
to electronic passports. These certificates authenticate users when
doing business over public and private networks. Digital certificates
also enable users to digitally sign and encrypt messages, thereby
ensuring that all transactions are authentic, private and tamper-proof.
* Datakey will provide the cryptographic smart cards that store and
process digital credentials to enable secure e-mail communications and
online authentication. Datakey smart cards add convenience for users,
allowing them to carry their digital credentials with them wherever they
go while securely accessing their online networks. Datakey also will
provide smart card personalization systems for the pilot.
"Being chosen to supply smart card technology for the DoD's pilot program reaffirms our position as a leading provider of smart card-based information security solutions for government agencies," said Carl Boecher, president and CEO of Datakey. "We look forward to working with CyberTrust and General Dynamics on this pilot program to meet the DoD's security needs."
The DoD will be evaluating whether existing commercial PKI practices, procedures, components, and assurances are sufficient for supporting sensitive government operations. The study will also measure the cost of ownership for such a commercial PKI model.
"Our products were selected to be a part of the Commercial PKI Security Assessment Pilot because they are geared to meet the DoD's 'Class 4' certificate service policy, which requires high-assurance digital certificates," said Peter Hussey, president of CyberTrust. "We are pleased to be teaming up with such highly regarded information systems and security providers as Datakey and General Dynamics."
About Datakey, Inc.
Datakey, Inc. is a leading international provider of smart card-based information security solutions. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn., the company offers a family of smart card-based information security and digital signature products under the SignaSURE(TM) umbrella. Using state-of-the-art cryptographic technology, these products fill growing market needs for secure, smart card-based user authentication and data privacy for business-to-business e-commerce. Datakey's information security products play an integral role in any public key infrastructure (PKI) system by providing dual-layer security -- something that is owned (a smart card) and something that is known (a password).
Shares of Datakey's common stock are traded on Nasdaq under the symbol DKEY. You can find more information on the Datakey web site at datakey.com. You can view all Datakey press releases on the web site, at prnewswire.com or via fax by calling Company News On-Call at 800-758-5804, ext. 231950.
About CyberTrust
CyberTrust is the leading enabler of secure extranets and e-commerce for organizations, extending their high-value relationships to the Web. The CyberTrust Secure Extranet Method establishes a first-in-market standard for certificate-enabled extranets that support privilege-based user access, data confidentiality, audit trails and digitally signed, binding transactions. Through our global network of partners, CyberTrust offers the industry's most complete suite of public key infrastructure-based products, outsourcing service and consulting. CyberTrust is headquartered in Needham Heights, Mass., with offices in Washington, D.C., London, and Sapporo, Japan. You can learn more about CyberTrust at cybertrust.com.
About General Dynamics
General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), headquartered in Falls Church, Va., employs approximately 43,000 people worldwide and has annualized sales of approximately $10 billion. The company has leading market positions in shipbuilding and marine systems, land and amphibious combat systems, information systems and business aviation. More information about General Dynamics security products is available at gd-cs.com.
CONTACT: Colleen Kulhanek of Datakey, 952-808-2361, marketing@datakey.com; or Media - Megan McDonnell of Environics, 203-325-8772, ext. 14, mmcdonnell@environics-usa.com, for Datakey.
SOURCE Datakey, Inc.
(C) 2000 PR Newswire. All rights reserved.
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