Terisa announces Thin SSL Client option for Internet appliances; WebTV Networks Inc. first customer to use SSL security for Internet appliances

Business Wire, June 9, 1997

LOS ALTOS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 9, 1997--Terisa Systems, Inc. today announced the Thin SSL Client option for its Terisa SecureWeb Toolkit(TM), making it the first commercially available product that allows developers to add Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) communications security to Internet appliances and other clients with limited resources, such as palm-top computers and PDAs.

The first customer to use this option is WebTV Networks Inc., which is offering this in a service upgrade for their set-top box as a way to allow consumers to conduct secure electronic commerce transactions over the Internet.

"The large financial and banking institutions have demanded that Internet devices must have channel security before they will allow them to be used for electronic commerce and banking over the Web," said Allan M. Schiffman, founder and CTO of Terisa. "SSL is perfect for this application, as it creates an encrypted channel between the user's client and the server at the merchant or bank. Terisa's thin SSL Client allows developers to create a client that's less than half the size of any other SSL client."

"Terisa's Thin SSL Client will be key to making our WebTV set-top box a success in conducting secure electronic commerce transactions," said Steve Perlman, co-founder and CEO of WebTV Networks Inc. "We are the first to offer SSL channel security on an Internet appliance. SSL security lets WebTV do all the financial transactions that until now have only been accessible through a full-sized PC."

Because Internet appliances have little room for extra memory, it hasn't been possible up until now to provide security for them. With this added security, it is expected that the number of electronic commerce transactions over the Internet will increase. The SSL protocol is an accepted security standard that allows client/server applications to communicate in a way that prevents eavesdropping, tampering or forgery. SSL provides data encryption, integrity, authentication and can support a variety of applications protocols, such as HTTP, and operates with communications protocols such as TCP/IP.

Code Footprint Configurable to Less Than 100kb

The Terisa SecureWeb Toolkit gives developers the tools they need to add robust communications security to their client and server World Wide Web applications. Standard SSL clients, however, are too large for Internet appliances, which do not have the same level of available resources, such as large memory stores and hard disk drives, as PCs or workstations. "A PC may have 32Mb of memory, while an Internet device may have less than 3Mb of memory available to the entire system," said Schiffman. "The beauty of our Thin SSL Client option is that it squeezes robust security -- all the most commonly used SSL functions -- into a small space."

With the Thin SSL Client option, developers can create an SSL client that provides both SSL v2 and SSL v3 support in a code footprint of less than 150Kb. The actual footprint may be less than 100Kb, depending on the number of security features the developer chooses to implement (such as client authentication, key management, and support for multiple protocol versions).

The Thin SSL Client includes all necessary cryptographic support for SSL, using RSA(TM) BSAFE(TM). The Toolkit supports non-blocking I/O and thread-safe libraries, and trust management features, which include server certificate chain validation and registration of trusted root keys.

Price, Availability

Thin SSL Client is available now as a free option to new and existing SecureWeb Toolkit customers. The SecureWeb Toolkit, which is supplied in both domestic and export configurations, provides developers with tested, ready-to-use implementations of S-HTTP and SSL, in addition to a secure key database, certificate management system, and the RSA BSAFE cryptography engine. Shipped in C source code form, the Toolkit includes a complete set of sample applications. The SecureWeb Payments(TM) add-on lets developers deliver payment card functionality for cardholder, merchant, and payment gateway applications using the Secure Electronic Transactions (SET) protocol.

Company Overview

Terisa Systems, Inc., based in Los Altos, Calif., was formed in 1995 to provide unified communications security solutions for the World Wide Web. In early 1995, leading industry players such as America Online, CompuServe, IBM, Motorola, Netscape, RSA and VeriFone/EIT forged a common commitment to WWW security by agreeing to pool both investment and technology in Terisa Systems. Terisa Systems' mission is to create the critical tools and applications that make secure electronic commerce possible. The company is also actively involved in promoting open, universal security protocol standards in the industry. For more information on Terisa Systems, visit http://www.terisa.com.

Terisa Systems announced on May 19, 1997 that it was acquired by SPYRUS, subject to shareholder approval. SPYRUS, based in San Jose, Calif., is known for its offerings spanning the S-HTTP, SSL, and SET Internet security protocols. The product families of Lynks Privacy Card hardware tokens, SPEX/ software libraries and cryptographic service toolkits supply high assurance security services to facilitate end-to-end electronic content transactions. SPYRUS' strength in smart card security products, SET payment card systems and securing web documents will allow the company to continue its leadership position as the electronic commerce market develops and accelerates. For more information about SPYRUS, visit the web site at www.spyrus.com. -0-