Hughes Aircraft Chooses RSA's BSAFE

RSA's BSAFE Crypto-Toolkit Provides Security "Engine" for New Hughes NetLOCK Network Security System

NOVEMBER 8, 1993 -- REDWOOD CITY, CA -- Hughes Information Security Products, an internal business unit of Hughes Aircraft Company, became the latest vendor to license the patented RSA Public Key Cryptosystem with the announcement of NetLOCK, a software-based security product that ensures the privacy and security of computer data communications traveling across local and wide area networks. Hughes developers used RSA's BSAFE Cryptographer's Toolkit to provide NetLOCK with advanced security features, including Diffie-Hellman Key Agreement for secure exchange of session encryption keys; RSA Digital Signatures and X.509 Digital Certificates. Future versions will support RSA's speedy RC2 and RC4 variable keysize symmetric ciphers.

RSA President Jim Bidzos said, "Hughes has more than 30 years of experience in secure telecommunications in both the defense and commercial sectors, and quite frankly, they were more than qualified to perform a lot of the crypto design and implementation work on their own. But the fact that the NetLOCK designers chose to use the RSA Public Key Cryptosystem and our BSAFE Cryptographer's Toolkit is quite a testimony to the level of commercial acceptance of our toolkits and public key technology in general."

Totally transparently, NetLOCK provides users with the ability to transmit data securely, assured that their files are sent to the correct recipient unopened and unaltered, and that their files are received only by the correct recipient. NetLOCK centralizes security management, providing network administrators with a system that is easy to grow and maintain. Furthermore, NetLOCK can be used with virtually any application, because it resides at the network layer of the ISO reference model, and will not interfere with higher levels of the protocol stack.

NetLOCK complies with Open Systems Interconnect (OSI), X.509 certificate and DES encryption standards. NetLOCK also uses the defacto industry-standard RSA Public Key Cryptosystem for authentication of X.509 certificates and the popular Diffie-Hellman Key Agreement technique for establishment of session encryption keys.

In addition to Hughes, the developers of Lotus Notes, Novell NetWare 4.0 and WordPerfect InForms also used RSA's BSAFE toolkit to provide the advanced security features found inside those best-selling applications. The RSA public-key security technology found in BSAFE is the most secure encryption technique commercially available, and is already a standard on the Internet, the world's largest network, and on the secure networks of businesses and financial institutions worldwide.

Available December 1, 1993, NetLOCK for Sun networks will retail for $3995 for a ten-user site license. Hughes is offering a special introductory price of $2995 for orders received before January 31, 1994. Other platforms will be supported soon.

RSA Data Security, Inc. is a recognized world leader in cryptography. The Company develops and markets platform-independent software developer's kits, end-user products, and provides comprehensive consulting services in the cryptographic sciences. RSA technology has been embedded in the products of companies such as IBM, Apple Computer, DEC, Microsoft, Sun Microsystems, Novell, Lotus, Motorola, Northern Telecom, AT&T, WordPerfect, Fischer International, General Electric, Hughes and many others. Founded in 1982 by the inventors of the patented RSA Public Key Cryptosystem, the company is headquartered in Redwood City, California.

The RSA logo, RC2, RC4, RSA Public Key Cryptosystem, RSA Digital Signature and BSAFE are trademarks of RSA Data Security, Inc., 100 Marine Parkway, Suite 500, Redwood City, CA 94065-1031.

NetLOCK is a trademark of Hughes Aircraft Company. All other trademarks are owned by their respective corporations. For Immediate Release