nCipher Delivers Enhanced Security to Web Applications
Woburn, MA — 22 April, 2003–nCipher plc (LSE:NCH), a leading provider of cryptographic IT security solutions, today announced that its nForce hardware security module (HSM) is certified by IBM to integrate with the latest versions of IBM WebSphere* Application Server 5.0 and IBM Tivoli Access Manager* 4.1. This certification allows IBM customers to seamlessly integrate nCipher’s nForce product line with IBM-based IT infrastructures to secure and manage vital cryptographic keys to improve confidentiality, integrity and authentication for a variety of software applications and accelerate cryptographic processing. As a result of the certifications, the nForce HSM is now part of the “Ready for Tivoli Software” and “Ready for WebSphere Software” programs.
IBM Tivoli Access Manager, a component of IBM’s integrated identity management portfolio, integrates with WebSphere Application Server to provide the secure access management and application environment for building complete Web application deployments. nCipher’s nForce provides a common approach to key management and cryptographic services for IBM-based Web applications. WebSphere Application Server allows customers to build Web services that support a wide range of business applications and development environments. IBM Tivoli Access Manager provides end-to-end application data protection and access control. Both use cryptographic keys to secure sensitive information, applications and transactions. Failure to protect these keys increases the risk of digital credentials being compromised.
The integration of nForce into IBM-powered Web applications gives IBM users a hardware-based security solution to protect and manage keys while also accelerating process-intensive cryptographic transactions throughout a Web based service. nForce stores and manages keys in a tamper-resistant FIPS 140-certified secure hardware module to insure the keys are never left in the open and vulnerable to attack. In addition, the HSM significantly enhances system performance and therefore overall capacity, accelerating secure transactions by off-loading SSL processing from a host CPU. nCipher’s products are ideally suited to meet the security needs of customers developing products and services based on IBM’s WebSphere and Tivoli software product lines.
“We’re pleased that nCipher has joined the large number of hardware and software development tool providers who have enabled their products for Tivoli and WebSphere,” said Arvind Krishna, vice president of security products, Tivoli Software, IBM. “nCipher combined with IBM middleware can provide our customers with faster, more secure Web transactions for the development and deployment of e-business on demand applications.
“IBM products have and will continue to provide the backbone infrastructure for many customer networks. Through our relationship with IBM we have the opportunity to establish the seamless integration of cryptographic security into applications built around this infrastructure, providing our customers with the necessary security to meet current and future requirements,” said Stuart Vaeth, director strategic alliances, nCipher.
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 organizations to implement best practice security by addressing the challenges of cryptographic key management and performance. Many of the world’s leading organizations – 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 organizations 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 as a TechMARK 100 company (LSE:NCH) with offices in Cambridge, UK; Boston, Seattle, Paris, Hamburg, Singapore and Tokyo. For more information on nCipher, visit www.ncipher.com