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BROADCOM AND nCIPHER JOIN FORCES TO ENABLE HIGH-PERFORMANCE INTERNET SECURITY INFRASTRUCTURE
Added: (Tue Sep 25 2001)
Market leaders address need for advanced ContentAwareÔ networking and increased level of information security
Cambridge, England —September 25, 2001 — nCipher plc (LSE:NCH), the leading provider of enhanced security for electronic transactions, and Broadcom Corporation (Nasdaq: BRCM), the leading provider of integrated circuits enabling broadband communications, today announced a strategic partnership to enable ContentAwareÔ networks to overcome the challenges of an increasingly encrypted Internet. This strategic agreement will provide equipment vendors and network architects access to best-in-class, high-performance Internet security infrastructure solutions.
BroadcomÒ and nCipher have joined forces to reconcile two of the most important trends in the Internet industry: the demand for high-performance, intelligent, ContentAware networking, and the need for higher levels of information security. The rise in cybercrime and concerns over privacy are triggering the increased use of encrypted traffic on the Internet, a trend that is in direct conflict with the latest techniques to manage Internet traffic flows. The cloak of secrecy provided by data encryption obscures the very information that intelligent traffic management devices are designed to inspect and analyse in order to make smarter switching, routing and caching decisions. As a result, networking equipment and application servers must combine fast cryptographic processing with uncompromising security management technologies. Organisations using industry-standard protocols including SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) for web browsing, IPSec for Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and broadband networks based on cable modems can all benefit from this technology alliance.
Under the terms of the agreement a series of products will be developed that combine Broadcom’s high performance cryptographic processing technology with nCipher’s Internet security and key management expertise. Together the two companies will address the needs of equipment manufactures, application developers, service providers and enterprise customers. nCipher will market a range of pre-packaged products to enhance the performance and security of server based applications through its global sales channels and will work closely with its existing ISV (Independent Software Vendor) partners to ensure plug and play interoperability. Broadcom will provide OEM modules and advanced cryptographic processors that dramatically reduce both time-to-market and development costs for equipment manufacturers who would otherwise be forced to consider developing this technology themselves.
“It is commonly believed that SSL encryption can only be applied at Web servers, but a broad range of networking and content devices can also derive enormous benefits by incorporating SSL hardware. For example, switches can intelligently manage traffic flows irrespective of whether the data is encrypted or not,” said John Lawler, Directing Analyst for E-Business Infrastructure at Infonetics Research. “One of the most exciting aspects of the relationship between Broadcom and nCipher is as the enabler for this new generation of intelligent and secure devices.”
“With the recent launch of our second-generation security processor, the BCM5821, and the CryptoNetXÔ line of acceleration adapters we have once again raised the performance bar in the market,” said David Kranzler, senior director of Broadcom's Secure Networking Business Unit. “With systems capable of many thousands of secure SSL connections per second, the need for enhanced security architectures is obvious. By partnering with nCipher, we are gaining the most advanced key management technology on the market today. Combined with our already proven and market-leading technology, we are able to offer our customers a comprehensive, embedded security solution that can be easily integrated into any network device, saving development costs and enabling our customers to generate incremental revenue and product differentiation by using enhanced security as a new selling point to their customers.”
nCipher and Broadcom have joined together to provide an important element for networking vendors. Security is no longer optional: best practices surrounding the management of mission-critical cryptographic keys for SSL and other protocols have become well established, and in an increasing number of installations are actually mandated. Security standards such as FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standard) 140-1 have become a check box item in many industries and the combination of nCipher’s expertise in this area with some of the highest performance SSL-handling silicon in the world from Broadcom gives networking vendors the ability to react quickly to these market dynamics.
“We are extremely excited to be partnering with Broadcom. The combination of our two product sets provides an obvious advantage for network equipment vendors and Web site owners that are faced with deploying SSL functionality widely across geographically dispersed networks in a secure and highly scalable way,” said Alex van Someren, Chief Executive Officer, nCipher. “Broadcom’s technology is incorporated in the products of many of the world’s leading networking vendors, and this agreement will allow us to take advantage of Broadcom’s extensive experience and sales channel. nCipher was an early innovator in the rapidly evolving Internet security market and through this partnership we will be working closely with Broadcom to establish our combined technologies as the de-facto source of secure, high performance SSL processing both at the server and network switch level.”
About nCipher
nCipher is the leading provider of enhanced security for electronic transactions.
nCipher’s hardware security solutions complement off-the-shelf software products and custom security applications by providing increased levels of security, seamless scalability and improved transaction throughput. The integration of nCipher’s award-winning encryption-based technology into an overarching e-security infrastructure allows organisations to protect electronic assets and intellectual property, as well as take steps to ensure the integrity and privacy of customer information.
nCipher is listed on the London Stock Exchange as a TechMARK 100 company (LSE:NCH). With offices in Cambridge, UK; Boston, New York and San Francisco, USA; Dublin, Ireland; Paris, France; and Hamburg, Germany, nCipher serves customers and partners around the world. For more information on nCipher, visit www.ncipher.com.
About Broadcom
Broadcom Corporation is the leading provider of highly integrated silicon solutions that enable broadband communications and networking of voice, video and data services. Using proprietary technologies and advanced design methodologies, Broadcom designs, develops and supplies complete system-on-a-chip solutions and related applications for digital cable set-top boxes and cable modems, high-speed local, metropolitan and wide area and optical networks, home networking, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), carrier access, residential broadband gateways, direct broadcast satellite and terrestrial digital broadcast, digital subscriber lines (xDSL), wireless communications, SystemI/O™ server solutions and network processing. Broadcom is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., and may be contacted at 949-450-8700 or at www.broadcom.com.
Broadcom Corporation Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995:
This release may contain forward-looking statements based on our current expectations, estimates and projections about our industry, management's beliefs, and certain assumptions made by us. Words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "believes," “seeks,” “estimates,” "may," "will" and variations of these words or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. In addition, any statements that refer to expectations, projections or other characterisations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. These statements speak only as of the date hereof. Such information is subject to change, and we will not necessarily inform you of such changes. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, our actual results could differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statements as a result of various factors.
Broadcom®, the pulse logoÒ , ContentAwareÔ, CryptoNetXÔ and System I/OÔ are trademarks of Broadcom Corporation and/or its affiliates in the United States and certain other countries. All other trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners.
Contact:
Liz Clifford, nCipher plc, tel: +44 1223 723612; email: mailto:liz@ncipher.com
Laura Brandlin, Broadcom Corporation, tel: +1 949-585-5108; email: mailto:lbrandlin@broadcom.com
Peter Rennison, PRPR, tel: +44 1442 245030; email: pr@prpr.co.uk