Thales SONET Encryption Appliance Receives FIPS 140-2 Level 2 Validation

Business Wire, April 3, 2007

WESTON, Fla. -- Thales, the leader in high-performance encryption, announced today that its state-of-the-art Datacryptor[R] SONET/SDH OC-3/12/48 encryptors have been validated by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) under the Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 140-2 validation process. Thales continues to demonstrate its leadership and strength in the encryption marketplace, as it currently maintains over 30 FIPS product certifications for the Datacryptor product line. The certification allows Thales to continue to be a key supplier of encryption products to the U.S. Government.

As the gold standard for cryptographic security, FIPS-140-2 validation is required by the U.S. Federal Government to certify the design strength of information assurance products, and is increasingly becoming a benchmark for the private enterprise sector including the banking and finance markets. Supporting the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) with 256-bit encryption algorithm and with redundant power to meet high-availability applications, Thales' high-speed optical encryption platforms are being deployed to enable high-speed and high-reliability of mission critical applications worldwide.

Thales' Datacryptor portfolio of encryption products and solutions is highly recognized in the industry for securing the confidentiality of critical data in transit. Datacryptor SONET/SDH enables customers to meet government data security mandates and regulations, while delivering higher efficiency compared to Layer 3 IPSec based solutions.

Financial and government agencies are increasingly deploying Layer 2 encryption solutions to reduce latency and increase performance. Wide-area network applications such as business continuity, disaster recovery, call centers connectivity, and Storage Area Networks (SAN) are increasingly being provisioned over high-speed/high-bandwidth optical links. The Datacryptor SONET/SDH products are interoperable with SONET/SDH and DWDM telecommunications services and have been deployed with the leading storage vendors.

"Our continued commitment in obtaining NIST certifications is a clear validation of Thales expertise in the security industry. We are committed to support our customers' requirements and these certifications validate the security assurance that Thales solutions bring to the market," said James Kilazoglou, VP and Managing Director of the e-Security activities of Thales.

About Thales

Thales is a leading international electronics and systems group, serving defense, aerospace and security markets worldwide, supported by a comprehensive services offering. Thales offers unmatched capability in the development and deployment of critical information systems. The group's civil and military businesses develop in parallel to serve a single objective: the security of people, property and nations. Thales group employs 70,000 people in 50 countries and generated revenues of $13 billion in 2006.

Thales is a world leader in the provision of cryptographic security products and solutions for all critical infrastructures including governments, the military, satellite networks, enterprises and the finance industry. Thales has 40 years of unrivalled track record in protecting networks and a complete portfolio of products which includes network encryption, access control and remote user solutions. In the financial world, Thales secures value bearing transactions, data preparation for card and PIN issuing, and provides advanced user and message authentication solutions supported by secure identity management and token issuing. Over half of the world's banks, together with the majority of the busiest exchanges, currently use Thales technology and services.

Visit Thales e-Security on the Web at: www.thalesesec.com.