Baltimore Technologies Announces J/SSL; 100% Pure Java Secure Socket Layer Can be Used for all E-Commerce security

Business Wire, Nov 27, 1997

DUBLIN, Ireland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 27, 1997--Baltimore Technologies today announced J/SSL, a full strength secure communications toolkit written entirely in Java and built using Baltimore Technologies acclaimed J/CRYPTO.

Secure Socket Layer (SSL) is the de facto standard for secure communications on the Internet. Designed to facilitate the adoption of electronic commerce as a business tool, SSL guarantees confidentiality, integrity and authentication of data, addressing the minimum requirements for secure transactions. J/SSL is aimed at Java developers requiring commercial strength security for all Internet Server/Client communication.

Advantages of J/SSL

SSL 3.0 is implemented in practically all Internet browsers allowing business to conduct secure commerce such as Online Banking, Home Shopping etc. As J/SSL is written in Ireland, it is not subject to US export restrictions and therefore provides full 128-bit encryption. The strength of SSL is based upon widely understood and analysed ciphers including DES, Triple-DES, RC4, SHA-1 and MD5.

Authentication is provided by using X.509 digital certificates which can be based on the RSA cipher, DSA (Digital Signature Algorithm) or Diffie-Hellman to prove the identity of the parties involved. PKCS#10 certificate requests can be generated using J/SSL which can then be submitted to a Certification Authority such as UniCERT from Baltimore Technologies.

J/SSL is a full implementation of SSL 3.0. Developed from the renowned J/CRYPTO 2.0, the world's first commercial 100% pure Java Crypto library, J/SSL uses implementations of full strength industry standard cryptographic algorithms. As it is built on top of JCA (Java Cryptopgraphy Architecture), other cryptographic libraries which are JCE compliant (Java Cryptography Extension) can be plugged in as the cryptography provider in J/SSL with a minimum of alterations. J/SSL is written in Java and is therefore both platform and operating system independent.

J/SSL is compatible with the latest JDK 1.1*, and also with JDK 1.0.2 and can be used to build applets for older browsers including Netscape 3.0 and Internet Explorer 3.0 as well as the latest generation of browsers.

"Baltimore Technologies is already recognised as the world leader in Java cryptography. J/SSL further re-enforces our strength in this area and demonstrates our commitment to Java and Internet security," commented Fran Rooney, CEO of Baltimore Technologies. "The market for SSL is way beyond that of web systems. We see SSL as a vital security component in a wide variety of secure e-commerce systems."

Application

J/SSL provides a simple API including an SSLSocket class that creates a secure, authenticated connection to any SSL Server/Client. This SSLSocket exchanges certificates and allows the application developer to open input/output streams which can be written and read from any normal Java i/o streams.

Using this toolkit developers can build applications or applets to secure communications between servers and browsers such as:

-- Secure Internet Banking - funds transfer, access bank

account details online

-- Online Shopping - secure exchange of credit card details

-- Online Brokerage Services - secure financial dealings

-- Secure Web Casting - ensures security on web push

technologies

-- Secure Database Connectivity - remotely access & update a

central database

-- Telnet - secure remote log-in to Clients & Servers

Commercial release for J/SSL is scheduled for January '98 and full pricing details will be published on that date.

About Baltimore Technologies

Baltimore Technologies is a world leader in the provision of Information Security products and systems. Its products include solutions for secure email, web & e-commerce. Baltimore Technologies also provides a range of C and Java cryptography libraries and supplies design and consultancy services to the IT security industry. Its headquarters are located in the International Financial Services Centre in Dublin. Baltimore Technologies was founded in 1976 and is privately held.

In addition, Baltimore Technologies is leading the EUROTRUST project to develop a Trusted Third Party (TTP) infrastructure for electronic commerce throughout Europe in conjunction with commercial and industry partners.

CONTACT: Baltimore Technologies Ltd., Dublin

Ms. Carol Clavin

IFSC House, International Financial Services Centre

Custom House Quay

Dublin 1, Ireland

Direct: 353-1-605 4399 Fax: 353-1-605 4388

Email: press@baltimore.ie

Web: http://www.baltimore.ie